Just Tell Me
by MagicAndSparklez
Summary: Tessa Gray just wants to be the perfect image of a lady. But, how perfect can you feel when you've been lied to and betrayed, by those you love? Story set sometime during Clockwork Prince. Kinda like an alternate version to Clockwork Prince... With Wessa. (Rated 'T' for minor references/uses/mention to self-harm and disordered eating)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N.**

***Trigger Warning *****Self-harm **

****This may not be triggering in the slightest to some people, but I know it can be to some... If you don't have many issues with Self-harm, I wouldn't even worry too much about the warnings,**

**There are depressive themes in this story, there is also self-harming in this, and may be triggering for some, but, it may not be for others. It is my first story, I hope it's good.**

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><p>Tessa sat at the table in the London's Institute. Everyone was eating, talking and laughing, while Tessa sat silently next to Will, who was talking to Jem, who sat on his other side. Tessa looked at her plate, feeling less and less hungry as she thought about how tight her dress was feeling.<em> I need to be smaller...<em>

"Tessa dear," it was Charlotte, with a look of worry on her face, who pulled Tessa from her thoughts. "Are you going to eat? You've been locked up in your room all day. Surely you must be famished." Charlotte spoke softly. Tessa looked at her, _do you really care?_ she thought.

"No, it's fine. I'm not hungry." _I'm starving_.

"Right, and I'm a faerie, seriously Tessa? You have ate close to nothing all week." Jessamine sneered. Tessa shook her head, and looked to Jessamine.

"It's not that I haven't eaten. I just haven't been hungry." Tessa said, letting her gaze drop back down to her full plate.

"Not that I particularly like you," Will said, looking at Jessamine, "but, I must agree. Tessa hasn't really eaten all week." Will said his blue eyes focusing now on the grey ones beside him. Jem was next to speak up.

"Just let it alone. If she isn't hungry, she isn't going to eat." Jem said, glancing at Tessa, sympathetically.

"But she's lying!" Jessamine stood up. "Just look at her. You can tell she's lying just by looking at her eyes." Jessamine cried.

"I think it's time for you to go Jessie." Charlotte said, calmly. Jessamine turned around and started to walk away muttering something about_ 'not being a child'_ as she stormed out of the room. "Well, that's a bit better now, isn't it?" Charlotte said, to no one in particular. Everyone nodded, as they finished eating. Will appeared to be writing on something and Jem was silently whispering to Will.

_"...know why Jessie's so upset..."_ Tessa heard, along with a reply from Will, _"...used to be like that too." _ Jem nodded _"Right."_ He said.

"Umm, may I be excused?" Tessa said quietly, looking up at Charlotte, who was sitting across the table from Tessa.

"Of course, Tessa." Charlotte said calmly as she stood up from her own seat. Just as Tessa stood up, Will grabbed her hand and slipped a piece of paper, in it.

"Goodnight Tessa." Will said. She nodded and left.

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><p>When Tessa got back to her room, she flopped down on her bed, and pulled the note out of her sleeve, she had tucked it there when she passed Sophie in the hallway. She opened it up and read it<p>

_'Meet me in the library tonight at 11:30. I need to talk to you.'_

Whatever Will could possibly wish to discuss with Tessa was a mystery, but she decided she would meet him later. She glanced at the clock, slowly ticking, on the wall. _9:47_. She still had just under two hours. _What to do, what to do..._ Tessa thought as she looked to the top drawer where her blade hid _make me feel real_. Before she could move, there was a knock on the door. "May I come in, Miss Tessa?" _Sophie._ Tessa stood up and walked over to the door.

"What do you want?" Tessa said, surprised by the sharpness in her voice, as she opened the door. Sophie looked taken aback by Tessa's odd behaviour.

"Sorry, Miss. If it's a bad time, perhaps I could return later?" Sophie muttered as she began to turn around. Tessa grabbed her by the shoulder, before she could go.

"No, Sophie, it's fine. I'm sorry. I just feel... I just feel_ off_ today." Tessa apologized. Sophie turned back to face her and nodded. "So, what is it that you came for?"

"Mrs. Branwell asked me to give you this." Sophie said, handing a letter to Tessa.

"Who wrote it?" Tessa asked as she searched the folded paper for a name aside from her own.

"She did. Mrs. Branwell wrote it. She said that she's been meaning to talk to you but is _'so busy with everything else'_ and doesn't have time." Sophie said, Tessa nodded. "Well, goodnight then." Sophie said, turning on her heels and walking down the hall. Tessa walked back into her room, shutting the door behind her. She opened the letter as she sat on the edge of her bed. Taking a deep breath, Tessa began reading.

_Tessa, as head of the institute, it is my job to ensure that all of it's inhabitants are well cared for and content. it has been quite obvious you have not been too content living here, with you staying locked up in your chambers all day, and not eating properly. If there is anything you need, anything I can do for you, please let me know._  
><em>-Charlotte<em>

Tessa was slightly shocked at the letter._ So now I'm taking up her time with my problems. As if she isn't stressed enough,_ she thought. With all the thoughts and confusion of what's been going on lately, Tessa needed to release. She went over to her night stand and pulled out the blade. She pulled up her skirts revealing her scarred thighs. _One for being too big, _she thought as she looked at herself, dragging the blade across her thighs. _One for being a burden on everyone, _she thought about Charlotte, how she was always stressed, and Tessa now adding more onto Charlotte's mind. _"And the last for trusting everyone, too easily." _Tessa spoke aloud, thinking of Nate's betrayal, thinking of how she really thought he was on their side. And, she thought of Will, how much she really believed he loved her, then, how he dismissed her as no more than a distraction. She dragged the blade across her thigh, long and slow, feeling the pain sting her, but feeling her mind clear of the thoughts, she felt _alive_.

Once she came down a bit from her high, she let her skirts fall back down to the floor. She sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbing the note from Will and reading it again. She checked the time, 10:23. She thought of why Will would want to talk to her, after the way he dismissed her, after the way he treated her. Was this some kind of joke? He'd been nothing but rotten to her for the past while,_ but something in his expression seemed sincere _she thought, looking back on the day. _Maybe some rest will clear my head_, she thought, as she fell asleep.

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><p>Tessa bolted upright, panting heavily, sweat pasting her hair to her forehead. It was just a dream. <em>She had been in the midst of being out for a walk, alone, and was attacked. She had seen someone running to her in the distance, <em>Will. _Will._ She glanced at the clock. _11:26._ She quickly hopped out of bed, and started towards the door, gently opening it, and silently shutting it behind her as she went. She looked left then right, before stealthily bolting down the halls.

When she finally reached the library, there was no sign of Will. She walked around the large room, surely he was already here, Tessa thought. Giving up, she flopped down on one of the long sofas waiting for him to come. Not long after, she heard foot steps. "Tess?" The voice whispered. It was Will.

"Over here." Tessa said, lifting her arm lazily, signaling her location on the sofa. Will's footsteps started toward her. She sat up, making room for him to sit next to her, which he took. "What do you want?" She asked. Will frowned.

"Tess, I.. I've been worried about you." He said, looking down to the floor.

"There's nothing to worry about. I'm completely fine. I mean, sure, my brother betrayed me," Her voice cracked, "but, aside from that... I'm fine." Tessa said, tears slowly welling up in her eyes. Will looked up at her, a look of sadness on his face.

"No Tessa. You are not _fine_. In fact, I think you are the complete opposite of _fine_." Will said, sounding annoyed.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"It's exactly that, Tess. Listen to yourself. You look like your on the edge of having a panic attack. You hardly come out of your room, you don't really talk to anyone, and you don't eat." He said, sounding _angry?_

"Well, why do you care? You have made it very clear of how you think of me! you have made it obvious that I am no more than a _distraction_ to you!" Tessa blurted out, breaking into tears. The look on Will's face, after hearing her words, was of pure hurt. He never thought that he could hurt someone so much. _Someone that he loved so much._

"I... Tess, I didn't mean it that way." Will said, Tessa locked eyes with him.

"Yes, you did." she said, as her tears ceased. As Will began to protest, she continued talking. "I really don't know why I'm even here right now. I shouldn't have come."

"Why?" Will asked, Tessa stood up and took a step away, but Will reached up and grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms as he got to his feet. "Don't leave."

"And why shouldn't I?" Tessa asked, looking away, trying to free herself from Will's arms. Will looked at her, and something inside him clicked _I can't lose you_ he thought. _The Curse..._ torn, Will needed to think.

"Because I..." Could he do this? Could he risk losing her like this?

"Because what, _William?_" She spat his name out, like it were poison. Will sighed, _screw the Curse,_ he thought as the next words flooded from his mouth.

_"Because I love you."_ He said, quietly and quickly.

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><p><strong>AN... So, this is my first FanFic I've ever published... like, ever... I would love if you could drop me a review... Should I continue this story? I really hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N. So here it is! chapter 2... This chapter will _not_ contain any reference to self-harming, as the previous chapter had... but it will however have mention of Tessa's disordered-eating (it's mainly what sparked it.)**** So, without further disruption... I give you, chapter two.**

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><p>"Because what, <em>William?<em>" She spat his name out, like it were poison. Will sighed, _screw the Curse,_ he thought as the next words flooded from his mouth.

_"Because I love you."_ He said, quietly and quickly. But, by the look on Tessa's face, she had most likely heard him. The silence that followed was deafening. Tessa's face was still in the same form as it had been, her mouth hanging open slightly, in shock, and her eyes wide, staring off at nothing. Slowly Will let his arms fall as Tessa backed away, sitting back down. Will began to grow nervous. "Say something, Tess." She closed her mouth and her eyes and sighed, leaning back into the cushions on the sofa, and put her hands over her face. "_Please._" Will pleaded. Tessa shook her head and put her hands on her lap, trying to regain her composure. She opened her eyes and looked at Will, taking a deep breath.

"No, you don't." Tessa said firmly. "No, Will, you don't love me. You _can't _love me." Tessa said, staring at Will's sad face.

"But I do, Tess. I..." Will's voice trailed off. _How can I tell her?_ he wondered. "I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"Well, _'sorry'_ doesn't turn back time, Will. It doesn't make everything better." Tessa snapped. Will grabbed her hands, pulling her up, and close to him.

"Then tell me what _can_ make this better." Will asked, trailing one on his hands up her arm, cupping her cheek. "What can I do, Tess?" He stroked her cheek with his thumb. Tessa didn't want to say anything, didn't want to move.

"_Kiss me,"_ Tessa whispered. Will leaned down, pressing his lips to hers softly, as they both closed their eyes. Will's free arm wrapped around her waist, while Tessa, laid her arms lightly on his shoulders. Tessa began to feel light headed, unsure of why, she pushed back from Will. _"Stop."_ she said, weakly, as she sat down, yet again.

"Tess, what's wrong?" Will asked, concerned. Tessa looked as if she were about to faint. _She hasn't eaten all week, of course she is going to faint._ He thought as he sat down next to her. Tessa leaned into him, Will wrapped an arm around her. "Tess, are you alright?" Will asked, concerned.

"Yes. I'm fine." Tessa said weakly. Her eyes shut as she leaned heavier on him, as her head began to throb. "No. I'm not." If it hadn't been for Will holding her, she would have fallen forward, hitting the ground.

Tessa's body went limp beside Will, not sure of what to do, he scooped her into his lap. He idly stroked her hair, waiting for her to awake. _Surely she wouldn't be out too long, _he thought. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and as he did, she began to stir. Tessa began mumbling unintelligibly, in her sleep. Will grew concerned and began to lightly shake her. "Tessa, wake up." he said, hoping for her to awaken.

She stopped her stirring, "_be thinner."_ was all she said, then, she was silent. _Thinner? _Will thought, _how could she want to be thinner?_ It struck him then, _that was why she wasn't eating._ Will wanted to wake her, but she looked so peaceful, as she slept. But, on the flip side, she hadn't eaten enough lately, and he didn't want anything bad to happen to her. So he continued, gently, shaking her, hoping to awaken her. Within several minutes, Tessa's eyes fluttered open. "Will?" she spoke weakly, still wrapped in his arms.

"Tessa, do you know where you are?" Will asked, he had heard something about people going unconscious and forgetting basic things.

"In the..." She looked around the room. "In the library. What happened?" She asked sleepily, readjusting her position, so that she was sitting upright, in Will's lap.

"You either fell asleep, rather abruptly I might add, or, you fainted." Will said, wrapping his arms around her waist, from behind her. "I'm going to go with the latter." he said.

"Why'd I pass out?" Tessa asked, her voice normal. She turned her head slightly, looking to Will.

"You haven't the slightest idea?" Will asked. Tessa just shook her head, her gaze returning away from him. Will sighed before speaking again. "Tess, I think you know why." Will said, unwrapping his arms from around her waist. She shook her head again, standing up. "Tessa, don't you even consider abandoning me here." Will stated. With a sigh, Tessa sat back down, next to Will.

She turned to face him. "What do you want?" She hissed.

"For you to open up to me? Tell me what's going on, Tess. _That's_ what I want." Will said as Tessa rolled her eyes at him, looking away. "Tessa, don't. I want you to tell me what's wrong." He lifted his hand to her cheek, turning her head back to face him. "_Please?_"

Tessa sighed. "Fine, what do you want to know?" She took his hand, guiding it down from her cheek, lacing her fingers with his.

"Why aren't you eating?" Will asked. Tessa's eyes widened.

"Well, that was rather abrupt, wasn't it?" She looked down, before looking pack up at his pleading eyes. "Well, if you _must know,_ I don't like looking like... well, _me._" She admitted, her eyes trailing back to the floor. "And don't just say that I can use my _power_ and change. No, I don't want that." She said, taking her free hand to tuck a loose piece of hair, behind her ear. "I just don't like the my looks, I guess."

"Why don't you? You're... Tessa, you're _beautiful._" Will said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. Tessa opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say a word, Will continued. "You are beautiful, you are foolish, if you think otherwise." Will spoke softly, lifting their entwined hands and kissing hers.

"Then why'd you act the way you did." Tessa blurted out.

"You thought I said that, because I thought you were... un-attractive?" Will was astonished. Tessa glanced at him, before letting her gaze fall back to the floor and nodding. "Honestly, if it were anything, some people would find it a complement. But you..." Will smirked. Tessa looked at him holding his gaze. Seeing the tears in her eyes, he stopped. "No, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry." Will wiped away the tear off her cheek, "Tessa, you _are_ beautiful, no matter what I've said, no matter what _anyone's _said."

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" Tessa sobbed. _Doing what?_ Will wanted to ask, but them thought of the few times he _had_ kissed her, then, pushing her away moments later. _But, that was all before I told her I _love_ her._ He pondered the ideas of what he could say, but before he could say a word, Tessa spoke, her voice trembling. "You kiss me, you push me back. You talk to me, you ignore me. What's wrong with you?" Will went to reach out to her, but she recoiled from his touch. "Don't even _think_ about touching me." She spat, venomously.

"Tess, how can I make you understand? How can I _convince_ you of my love-"

"_Love?" _Tessa cut him off. "You don't even know the first thing about _love!"_ She growled. Will couldn't think of any more words, he just stood up, defeated, and then walking away. "This is _precisely_ what I mean!" Tessa shouted.

"What do you mean by that?" Will turned back around, looking at Tessa's grey eyes, still full of tears.

"You come to me,_ kiss_ me, and leave, and then act as if it _never_ happened!" Tessa cried. Will fought back the urge to shout at her, why would he even _want_ to shout at her?

"What do you want me to do about this? You're yelling at me, you're rejecting me." Will walked a step closer to her. "What do you _need_ me to do?" he asked.

"Show me you care. Don't just leave!" Her voice cracked.

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><p><strong>AN. So, I just wanted to mention, this story is a lot about people who struggle with insecurity about their self-image/body-image (I am one of those people), and I also just like to write kinda depressing-ish things to get my mind off depressing things in _my _life. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this exactly, how long it's going to be... But, I'm trying my best to satisfy everyone, which is not easy. I'll also try to have an update schedule posted in the bottom A/N section of the next chapter... But I (unfortunately) will not be updating this story for the next few days, as I am going to be very busy this week.**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N. Ok, so chapter 3. Wow. I really didn't think I would ever actually write this chapter. I didn't really think many people would _actually _read this story, let alone favorite/follow it... Thank you! I love you guys. Just logging on, seeing I have one more follower/favorite/review on this, excites me. ****I hope you like this chapter. I am sorry about the wait, but I was a bit pretty busy last week. So, without further disruption, I give you chapter 3.**

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><p>"What do you want me to do about this? You're yelling at me, you're rejecting me." Will walked a step closer to her. "What do you <em>need<em> me to do?" he asked.

"Show me you care. Don't just leave!" Her voice cracked. "Stay and fight for me, Will. If you truly _do_ care and love me, you'll stay. You will put up with me being angry, you'll stay even if I go mad! You will _care_ for me, not just say you do." Tessa's voice was weak, but the impact in her words, hit Will like a train. He continued walking over to her, and stopped when he was standing above her. _"Fight for me, Will."_ Tessa whispered. He took her hands, pulling her up to stand with him.

_"_I will." He pulled her into his arms, as he spoke quietly. "And I'm_ not_ backing down this time." They stood there for awhile, Will holding onto Tessa, stroking her hair, and Tessa with tears slowly falling down her face.

"Thank you." Tessa said, her voice still sounding weak.

"For what?" Will asked, confused.

"For... _this_. For staying. Not leaving again." She looked up at him and pecked his cheek.

"That's all I get?" Will teased with a smile. Tessa smacked his chest, playfully.

"For now. Yes." She tried smiling. But it looked too forced, with her face still flushed, and eyes still glassy from her tears.

"Well, that was about four seconds ago... so can I get another now?" Will grinned, awaiting another feather light kiss. Which Tessa gave in to.

"Can you let me breath for a minute?" Struck with another wave of light-headedness, Tessa spoke quietly, pushing off Will's chest, he let her go.

"Is everything okay, Tess?" Will asked, putting his hands on her shoulders, a look of concern washing over his face. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"I'm just... I am a bit hungry." Tessa said, slightly embarrassed. Will smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Shall we go and get you something to eat then?" he asked, dropping his arms, to his sides. Tessa smiled half-heartedly and nodded.

"That'd be good." She murmured. Will tilted her chin up, and smiled at her.

"Then let's go to the kitchen and find something." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, guiding her out of the library.

As they walked, Tessa could only think of the idea of her and Will. _And food_... But mainly Will. The boy who had implied he only wanted her for... _his desires_, now is sincerely in love with her. It just seemed odd. She wondered why he had lied, why he couldn't have just simply told her that he was in love with her, why the sudden change at heart. _He must be hiding something,_ she thought about how he never really liked talking about himself, as they turned into the kitchen.

He guided her to a clear spot on the counter, and she sat down, while he went to search the cupboards for something. "What do you want?" Will asked, continuing his quest for food.

"I don't know. Anything you can find, I guess." Tessa said, swinging her legs as she sat on the countertop. Will soon pulled out a bag of uncooked rice, looking at it confused.

"What is this? It is not rice, no way in heaven is _this_ rice." Will said, to... _the bag of rice?_ Tessa just laughed.

"You need to _cook_ it, first." Tessa giggled. Will turned around to look at her.

"And I suppose you know how?" Will asked. Tessa hopped down from her seat, and walked over to him, grabbing it from his hands.

"I _do_. Honestly, you never cook?" Tessa questioned. Will shook his head.

"Agatha, always does... Well, did. Now Bridget does. So, no. I haven't ever cooked." Will said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Well, I was not raised in royalty, so I'm not _completely_ helpless." Tessa said proudly. She walked over to another cupboard, looking for a pot to cook it in. After some rummaging, she pulled one out and went over to the sink to fill it. Will watched her, curiously, as she filled it with water, and set it on the stove as she turned a knob and a flame popped out underneath the pot.

"What is this sorcery?" Will asked, his gaze set intently on the flame. Tessa laughed, again.

"Well, I am possibly a warlock of a sorts, so, it's just me." Tessa watched Will's expression change from that of surprise to that of uncertainty.

"Are you sure?" He asked, partly believing Tessa's words.

"No. It's just how the stove top works." Tessa said. Will smirked at her as she put a cover over the top of the pot. "So, you've _never_ seen anyone cook? Never considered how it works?" Tessa asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, when I was little, I wasn't allowed in the kitchen. And when I le-" Will stopped his words abruptly. _Oh, he _has_ to be hiding something. _Tessa thought.

"When you what?" Tessa asked, innocently.

"It.. It's nothing." Will stuttered.

"Oh, okay." Tessa dropped it _I'll get to the bottom of this eventually_, she thought. She saw that the water was about to boil over, and she removed the cover from it pot. She grabbed the bag of uncooked rice and poured in enough for her and a bit extra for Will. Since he had already eaten at dinner, he couldn't possibly eat much more. Or _want_ to eat much more, at least. Tessa grabbed a wooden spoon and began stirring the rice, Will just looked at her, smiling. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she turned away. Will let out a low chuckle, as he grabbed her by the waist, spinning her around to face him. Tessa smiled up at him.

"I love you." He said, loving the taste of the words coming from his mouth. Feeling free to finally be able to say them. But, he still felt guilt, for he never knew what the consequence would be for saying them. But, he knew what would happen if he meant them._ Which he did, he meant them._ But, he was never _free_ to mean that feeling, _love_. _I'll take my chances._ He leaned down and kissed her perfect lips, long and passionately. Will felt Tessa smile against his mouth. When the kiss ended, He looked deeply into Tessa's eyes and asked, "when's the rice ready?" Tessa couldn't help but laugh. She went over to stir it again, seeing most of the water had been absorbed.

"It should be ready in about a minute." Tessa claimed. Will came behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, kissing the top of her head.

"Okay." He whispered. Just as Tessa was about to speak again, there were footsteps. Will seemed oblivious to the noise, but Tessa became alert. _What if someone finds me in here and thinks I'm stuffing my face?_ she imagined someone walking in, seeing her eating whilst everyone was asleep, and telling everyone she was on a binge. _But, I'm just eating, not bingeing._ She calmed her thoughts as she turned off the flame and shook Will's arms off as she went to set the pot on the counter, off the heat, to cool a bit. There were more footsteps, but closer this time. Will seemed to notice, as he came beside her and asked if she heard it too.

"Yes." Tessa replied. "I heard them earlier, seconds ago, but they're getting closer." Tessa pulled out a two bowls, dividing up the rice, with more for herself, than for Will.

"Already making me meals, this just took yet another turn for the best. One more thing to love about you." Will smiled, as Tessa blushed. Just as they went to take it out to the dinning room, the kitchen door opened.

They heard someone clear their throat, they stopped, dead in their tracks. "Well, well, well. I never thought I'd see Tessa with food..." The voice trailed off as Will and Tessa turned to see the owner of the voice. "Or, with our very own William Herondale."

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><p><strong>AN. Ooh, who was it? I have a feeling some of you must know. But, if not... Looks like you'll have to wait.**

**I just want to mention, that (from now on) the only days I will be posting more chapters will be any day from Thursday-Sunday (Pacific time-zone), but not _each_ day... I might post more than one chapter in the same week, but don't count on it. Sorry for any inconvenience... I (somehow) do have a social life... kinda. Also, since this was uploaded on Sunday, and it was a pretty bad ending/cliff-hanger, I will try and upload another chapter right away on Thursday.**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N. Ok, here's chapter 4, on Thursday, as I promised. Yay! **

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><p>"Already making me meals, this just took another turn for the best. One more thing to love about you." Will smiled, as Tessa blushed. Just as they went to take it out to the dinning room, they heard the kitchen door open.<p>

They heard someone clear their throat, as they stopped dead in their tracks. "Well, well, well. I never thought I'd see Tessa with food..." The voice trailed off as Will and Tessa turned to see the owner of the voice. "Or, with our very own William Herondale." the figure was standing in the shadows, but Tessa could see, that they were adorned with a cloak. The figure stepped closer, and then they say _who_ it was. _Jessamine_. She walked over to the two of them, smirking as she did.

"What do you want, Jessie?" Will asked, stepping in front of Tessa. Even though this was no danger, Tessa liked how Will was protecting her, even from the smallest of threats like Jessamine. _But why was she wearing a cloak?_ Tessa wondered.

"Honestly, the pair of you. I could ask _you_ the same. So tell me Will, why are you and Miss Gray in here, _all alone?_" Jessamine asked, raising an eyebrow. Tessa stepped out from behind Will, putting down her bowl on the counter as she walked up to Jessamine.

"It's none of your concern. Now, please tell _us_ what's _you_ are doing here, at this time." Tessa said, trying to sound confident. Jessamine laughed, pushing Tessa back, she walked around her and went to sit on the counter, picking up Tessa's bowl of rice, she began speaking.

"So, now I get why you don't eat with us. You wish to consume it all at night, so we don't see how you look?" Jessamine looked suspiciously to Will after staring down with Tessa. "And Will, what were _you_ doing down here, with her?" Jessamine hopped down from the counter, setting down the rice, and walking up to Will. "What were your..." She cleared her voice, "_intentions?_" she sneered, looking up at Will, her hands holding each other behind her back.

"I was just helping her." Will said, stepping closer and staring back down at her with just as much intensity, if not more. After awhile, Tessa felt the need to do something, anything, even if it meant to be closer to them. She went over to them, standing at an equal distance from either of them.

After some time, Tessa decided this childish staring game had to end. She cleared her throat several times, but nothing changed. "Are you two going to continue to stare at one another all day, or shall we part ways?" Tessa spoke in an annoyed tone.

"Jessie, perhaps it's time you gave up? You cannot keep staring at me forever... I have nothing important to attend to at the moment, as where you..." Will trailed off, leaning closer, still maintaining eye-contact. "You came here for something. Surely you didn't decide _now_ would be a good time to go for a stroll." Will leaned back, still not breaking contact. _He _really_ doesn't go down easily._ Tessa thought, rolling her eyes.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to eat. This _is_ getting entertaining." Tessa said, smirking as she went to sit on the counter, taking her rice and spooning bits into her mouth, watching Will and Jessie continue staring. She looked at a small clock sitting on the counter beside her. _1:25._ Tessa was slightly shocked that she'd been down here as long as she was, nearly 2 hours. _Time flew by._ She let out a sigh as she finished the rest of her rice, setting the bowl down. "_Now_ this just seems ridiculous. You have been staring for quite some time. What are you hoping to accomplish?" Tessa asked, annoyed.

"Not that I agree with Tessa, but, I agree, this is getting a tad ridiculous." Jessamine said, backing away and locking eyes with Tessa.

"Ha! I win!" Will exclaimed. Tessa rolled her eyes, Jessamine just waved her hand as if she were brushing his words away. "So, Jessie, tell me why you're down here, at such a late hour?" Will questioned.

"It's none of your business." Jessamine turned away, pulling her cloak around her tightly.

"But I do think it is. You're not sneaking away are you? All your talk of leaving one day... I must say, I thought you'd be a bit smarter than to leave at this time." Jessamine remained turned away as Will spoke. "Really, if you were to leave tonight, not returning, we could easily think you died, not even batting an eye. What, with Mortmain and his automatons knowing our _exact_ location? He could easily try using _you_ as bait, or just simply try to make a statement by killing you." Will walked, as he spoke, over to Jessamine.

"He would not. He does not despise me as he does you. I am not like you. I am not like _any_ of you." Jessamine growled.

"Oh but you are. You see Jessie, you are but only a badly trained Shadowhunter. But you are _still_ a Shadowhunter." Will said harshly.

"That's not what I meant. Not at all." Jessamine said, emotionlessly, over her shoulder, as she walked out.

"That was... _odd._" Tessa said, watching Jessamine's retreating figure, just a shadow now, turn out of sight.

"Yes. Quite odd." Will turned around, walking over to Tessa. "Now, to solve another mystery..." Will's voice trailed off.

"And, what is that?" Tessa asked looking at Will.

"Where did I put my rice." Will smirked as Tessa laughed. "Honestly, in the midst of Jessamine's entrance, our telepathic duel and her departure... I seem to have lost it." Will looked around the room. Tessa walked back over to the door frame, getting a full view of the room. She spotted it then, on a crate a meter behind Will.

"Turn around." Tessa called. Will did so, finding it, smiling and picking it up, walking over next to Tessa.

"You really are fantastic." Will proclaimed. Tessa smiled as they walked out to the dining room, sitting next to each other.

"Why do you think Jessie was wearing a cloak?" Tessa asked, curious.

"I don't know. It doesn't make a difference to me, maybe she was just walking around and needed _something_ to cover herself. Come to think of it, she never did state why she'd come out in the middle of the night." Will said, looking quizzically back towards the kitchen.

"Well, I guess that's another mystery for yet another time." Tessa spoke softly, leaning into Will, who wrapped an arm around her. Tessa yawned, looking up at Will, who had just finished eating, and smiled. "I love you." She said dreamily. "But, I want to know more about _you._" She said with a bit more edge than she intended.

"Why must I tell you about myself?" Will sounded nervous. "You already know me. I am the most charming, handsome, courageous gentleman you will ever lay your eyes upon. What more must you know, Tess?" He asked. Tessa shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess it's because you seem to know a lot about me and my family, but I hardly know much about yours." When Tessa had said the word _family_ Will tensed beside her. _What _are_ you hiding? _she wondered. "You know so much about me and people close to me. Who's close to you?" Tessa asked, feeling like a detective, like one from a novel.

"There's not much _to_ know. I've lived here for..." Will trailed off looking at the empty chair on his other side, as if there was somebody there to offer him an answer.

"For how long? Sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly." Tessa admitted, knowing he had intentionally stopped talking for a reason.

"It doesn't matter. I've lived here for quite awhile now, my family is all here. Jem, Charlotte, Henry, even the _other one._" Will jerked his head towards the doorway leading to where Jessamine had been. _Jessamine. He and Jem had mentioned something about her earlier, at diner._ Tessa recalled what she'd overheard, Will saying something like _"she used to be like that too."_ and Jem agreeing.

"Speaking of '_the other one'_ what were you and Jem talking about earlier?" Tessa asked, feeling Will relax next to her, eager to change the subject off his family to something else.

"Well, it is a bit difficult to explain, I suppose." Will looked back to Tessa, who was now sitting up more. "How much did you hear?" Will asked, biting his lip.

"Not much, just your last exchange with Jem, and that was about it." Tessa said, a bit confused as to why it'd matter.

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><p><strong>AN. Ooh, what does that mean? I tried not to leave too much of a cliff-hanger on this one, because I don't want to make you guys wait for long with a bad ending... and also, because I will not be updating until next week. I am _once again _quite busy this week... but, I do have an excuse this time. School is starting very soon and it's a big year for me... So it ought to be pretty stressful... **

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas or things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did? (I would _really_ appreciate some more ideas for this story!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N. **

***Trigger Warning *****mention/reference to self-harm, no gory details.**

**Hooray! Chapter 5 is here! (FINALLY!) I tried to write something less 'tragedy', but there is mention of self-harming in this chapter.**

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><p>"Well, it is a bit difficult to explain, I suppose." Will looked back to Tessa, who was now sitting up more. "How much did you hear?" Will asked, biting his lip.<p>

"Not much, just your last exchange with Jem, and that was about it." Tessa said, a bit confused as to why it'd matter. Will sighed rubbing her shoulder as he kissed her forehead.

"Alright, so I assume you know Jem and I were referring to _you_, correct?" Will asked, Tessa nodded. "Okay, well, you know of how tiny Jessie is, how tightly she insist on lacing her corset?" Will stopped, looking to Tessa, who was nodding. "Well, she would starve and starve for several days, then consume a larger amount of food at the end of the week."

Tessa scowled at Will. Harshly she spoke, "that is _not_-"

"I know, I know, that's not exactly what you were doing." He cut her off. "It's just that she felt that the only way for her to find someone for herself, to run away with, was to be the most beautiful lady anyone could find, and her definition of beauty, is small and thin." Will said, gently stroking her hair.

"But why were the two of you even speaking of it then?" Tessa inquired.

"Well, she was getting quite angry and she stormed out in the most dramatic way. Jem had asked me what I thought she was on about."

"And, what was that?" Tessa leaned closer to Will, as she spoke softly.

"I was thinking of how she was saying how 'unfair' something was, I then recalled how when Jessie would starve, most of us -mainly Charlotte- were usually more persistent of her change of habits before it could worsen. You have it much easier than Jessamine. Nobody wants to anger Charlotte..." Will trailed off, pulling Tessa on his lap, she laughed aloud as he nuzzled into her neck, his hair tickling her. "That's why we need to be quiet." Will whispered into Tessa's neck. "Your laugh, as adorable as it is, is quite loud. We don't want to wake anyone, or have somebody else to disrupt this, now do we?"

"Okay. I'll be silent." Tessa whispered back. Will moved her hair to lay across her shoulder, kissing the skin on the other. Tessa moaned in pleasure as he gently kissed and nipped at her sensitive skin, working his way up her neck.

She turned to meet his lips, kissing him with great passion. Will wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as they kissed, Tessa gently laid her arms on his shoulders. Leaning forwards, the kiss deepened. Their mouths moved together in perfect harmony as the time ticked away. The kiss grew more and more desperate as the night continued, but not for very long. Before anything more could happen, there were footsteps.

"I have a feeling tonight is just bad luck." Tessa whispered against Will's lips, as they pulled apart. The steps grew louder. Unlike Jessamine, these were heavier, louder. The footsteps of a man.

Tessa stood up, flattening her dress from where Will had rumpled it when he had gripped her waist. Will stood shortly after, running a hand through his hair and pulling Tessa to a dark corner. "Why must everyone disrupt us?" Will muttered under his breath. Tessa shrugged and leaned her back into Will's chest. A door opened somewhere nearby, not knowing exactly where, they remained partially hidden in the shadows. The steps grew louder, but not loud enough to be in the dining room. A soft humming was heard, but not the hum of a machine, the hum of a human.

It felt like an eternity before the steps and humming stopped. Tessa straightened up, looking left to right as she stepped out of the shadows, Will followed in suit. The two walked to the door, leading through the kitchen, still hearing nothing but each others footsteps and breathing. Tessa walked as silently as humanely possible, whereas Will was even more silent with his Shadowhunter stealth. "Where are we even going?" he whispered as they walked through the door leading into the kitchen.

"I don't know." Tessa admitted. Will stopped behind her as continued to walk through the room. Upon realizing he'd stopped, she turned around and walked back over to him. "Why are you stopping? This is no time to stop. We must get back." Tessa urged.

"Back to where?" Will asked, being stubborn. Tessa sighed grabbing his hand, pulling him with her as she continued through the room. When they reached the door, Will stopped, again. Tessa turned around, a scowl on her face.

"Please, stop-"

"I have stopped. Can you not tell?" Will interrupted, smirking as Tessa tried not to slap him. "Tell me where you're taking me, and I will _consider_ following you." Will said, grabbing her other hand in his.

"We're going to..." Tessa trailed off, no idea of where to take him was in her mind. _But, he will not follow me if it's somewhere he doesn't want to be._ "Where do you _want_ to go." Tessa answered.

"Wherever you're going." Will countered. Tessa rolled her eyes and pulled her hands from his as she walked out into the hall.

She continued down the halls, but heard something behind her. She turned around, surprised to see that Will had _finally_ decided to follow her. "I knew you were going to give in." She said as she stopped, crossing her arms over her chest as she did.

"I though you'd get lost. And, I didn't want to make you think I wouldn't be bothered if I'd let that happen." Will admitted, stepping close to her, grabbing her hands. Tessa couldn't hide the grin that crept upon her face. She leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"You truly do have a weakness." Tessa smiled as she recalled his conversation about being without weakness.

"And you can't tell _anyone._ As far as they're concerned, tonight never happened." Will leaned in close, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Fine. But, we best be getting to bed. It is almost 2 in the morning." Tessa said, kissing Will's cheek.

"Yes, we should be getting to your bed." Will whispered, barley audibly. Tessa's eyes widened when he said it.

"You don't mean..." her voice trailed off. _I finally thought he loved me for other reasons, _she thought. Will lifted his head and a look of concern washed over his face.

"No, no, no, no, _that_ is not what I meant." He put a hand on her shoulder, the other went to her cheek where he turned her head to look back up at him. "Tessa, I did not mean it like that." his voice was quiet as he spoke. Tessa nodded slowly before she replied.

"Okay. I'm sorry, I just thought after the whole thing on the roof and everything else before tonight. I wasn't sure." She put her hand on Will's and took it in her own as they continued walking. "So, are you coming with me? Into _my _bed?" Tessa asked.

"If it is a problem, no. I will go back to my own chambers. But, I would love to be next to you, keep the nightmares away, stay with you." Will replied. Tessa took a breath, unsure, as they approached her room. She opened the door to reveal her slightly disarranged room. They walked over to her bed, Will sat on the edge as she removed her skirts and dress, leaving her in only her underclothes, as she went to change into a nightgown.

Will looked around the room as she changed. He saw something glimmer on her night stand. Something silver, and shining. He moved closer to find a blade, with dried blood on the end. "What's this for?" he asked cautiously as Tessa pulled the last pin from her hair. She turned around, looking closer at the object in question, a look of horror went up on her face when she realized Will had found her blade.

"It's nothing." She took a few long strides over to him, snatching it from his hand. "It's nothing." she repeated as she took it over to the nightstand, placing it in the drawer, now under a book.

"I have a feeling it is not just _'nothing'_, Tess. Why do you have a razor blade in your room?" Will asked, growing worried at Tessa's lack of response. She sat on her knees, resting her head on the nightstand as she took a shaky breath.

"I use it..._ I hurt myself._.." her voice was weak as she spoke. Tears rolled silently down her face as she turned to face Will, seeing the worried look on his face made her feel guilty, she started to sob quietly, turning away from him.

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><p><strong>AN. So I have an idea of how I want this to go... but, I do need ideas to fill in the gaps, so if you have any, let me know. I do plan on making this story more romantic/happier (there will still be some sadness/tragedy though).**

**I'm sorry it took me forever to update... I've had a bad authors block lately, a****nd now, I'm officially back in school, and getting homework... Update dates may vary... But, I might surprise you... **

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N. **

***Trigger Warning *****Self-harm and self-hatred.**

**O****k, so there is going to be more mention of Tessa's self-harming in this chapter now... But I think you kinda saw it coming, with how the last one ended... So, without further disruption, here's chapter 6!**

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><p>"I have a feeling it is not just <em>'nothing'<em>, Tess. Why do you have a razor blade in your room?" Will asked, growing worried at Tessa's lack of response. She sat on her knees, resting her head on the nightstand as she took a deep, shaky breath.

"I use it..._ I hurt myself._.." her voice was weak as she spoke. Tears rolled silently down her face as she turned to face Will, seeing the worried look on his face made her feel guilty, she started to quietly sob as she turned away from him. "I don't want to tell you." She stood up, walking over to the chair at the far corner of the room, she sat down, pulling her knees into her chest, resting her head on them.

Will stood up and walked over to her, he kneeled down next to her, wrapping an arm around her as he did. "Why are you doing this?" He asked, no louder than a whisper. Tessa just shook her head. Will pulled her to sit on the floor next to him. She crawled into his lap instead. Will wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest. "Just tell me, what's wrong Tessa." He said into her hair. She took a shaky breath and looked up at him.

"What's... there to... to tell?" She asked between sobs, burying her face back in his chest.

"Just tell me when you're ready." Will stroked her hair, rocking her gently back and forth as she continued to cry.

They sat together on the floor for a long time, Tessa went on to explain how this all started, she told him about how stupid she felt about trusting everyone, how she felt like nothing but a burden, the last thing she said was, "I hate _her. _I still hate _her_ sometimes." Tessa's voice sounded raw from all the crying and talking.

"Tess, who's _'her'_? Is she not nice to you? Do I need to do something about _her_?" Will asked, looking into Tessa's tear-filled eyes. She shook her head.

"You love her." Tessa whispered. Will shook his head, very confused. "You know her. She's me." Tessa buried her face back in his chest. Will stood up, bringing her to her feet along with himself.

"I do love you. You should love yourself too. Don't hate yourself, hate me. Don't hurt yourself, hurt me." Will said soothingly as he guided Tessa over to her bed.

"I don't _want_ to hate_ you_. I don't want to hurt _you_." Tessa said. "If I hate myself, I hurt no one but my self." Tessa looked away, "_just go. I don't want to hurt you." _Tessa whispered. Will grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"No. You're wrong. By hating yourself, I see you unhappy, you become destructive. You hurt yourself, and that hurts me. It hurts me because I can't do anything about it." Tessa tried to look away, again, but he made her face him again. "Stop doing this. I understand it will not be easy. But together, we'll get through this. You are beautiful in so many ways, Tessa. Your smile can light up a room, but it's been gone too long. Your love for books is beautiful, you see them as if they're the most incredible thing to ever exist. The way you carry yourself, just to try and please others is beautiful, but you need to worry less about them take care of _yourself_. Please, please stop hating yourself. We can get through this life, together. Let me be here for you." Will pleaded.

"I'll try." Tessa yawned. Will nodded, letting his arms fall back to his sides.

"Tess, you're tired. Let's get you to bed." Will said gently, Tessa nodded. He walked her over to her bed, and laid her down, pulling her blankets up to her chest and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Tessa." Will whispered. He began to turn to go, but Tessa grabbed his hand.

"No. Don't leave." She pulled him back, and he kneeled down next to her.

"I must sleep too, Tess." He stood again, only to be pulled back down.

"Then sleep here." Tessa said, as she moved to make room for him to lay down, next to her. Will smiled as he crawled in next to her, he tried to keep a bit of distance between them, but Tessa didn't like that. She snuggled herself right up next to him.

"Put your arm around me." she said sleepily. Will wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, kissing her forehead. "I love you, Will." She yawned.

"I love you too, Tess. More than you can ever know." He replied, as they drifted off into a deep slumber.

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><p>The next morning. Tessa awoke, seeing Will's eyes were shut, <em>probably still asleep<em>, his arm still wrapped protectively around her, she smiled. "Good morning." He said, as his eyes fluttered open, looking down into hers.

"Good morning." Tessa's smile grew. She realized, she didn't have any nightmares last night. Will sat up, as did Tessa. She leaned over, placing a kiss on his lips, she felt him smile.

"If this is what waking up next to you means, I wouldn't mind doing this again tonight." Will said, as he stood up. "I mean, only if that is alright with you." He looked down at her, smiling.

"I would love that." Tessa smiled up at him, still sitting in the bed, she looked over to her nightstand, then frowned. Will caught her gaze, where she was looking, he went to stand in front of it.

"No, Tessa." Will scolded. Tessa's eyes snapped up to his.

"I wasn't going to touch it. I was actually going to ask if you... if you could... never mind." she dropped the subject. Will furrowed his brows, looking back at the drawer where the blade was stashed.

"What is it? What can I do for you?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to Tessa.

"I was going to ask if you could... If you could take it for me. Take it away where I won't be tempted to use it." Tessa said, looking at her hands. Will smiled at her.

"If that means a step towards stopping, yes. I will take it. I can assure you I can find somewhere to hide it." He grabbed her hand, she up at him with a ghost of a smile tracing her lips. "I want to help you, and if this is the first step, I'd be more than glad to take it with you." Will said, pulling her into a sideways hug.

"Thank you." Tessa said quietly. Will kissed her hair before he pulled away.

"It's my pleasure." He said back, smiling. Tessa's lips curved up into a smile, Will couldn't help but grin bigger. "There it is. There's that beautiful smile I've been missing." Will stood up, Tessa giggled and blushed at his comment. "So adorable." Will said, walking across the room.

"Where are you going?" Tessa asked. Will was standing a few meters from the door, as he turned around.

"Nowhere. I was just letting you have some space so you could get up and change." Will said. Tessa nodded as she hopped out of bed.

"I can't really get my dress laced up quite right, not without Sophie. I don't think she'd be too pleased to see you in here when she comes." Tessa admitted. A wicked grin washed up on Will's face.

"Maybe _I_ could help you dress?" He suggested. Tessa's face went blank, her eyes widened. At her reaction, Will realized what he'd just said, and how Tessa must've interpreted it. _Backtrack, backtrack, backtrack!_ "Or not. I understand. I will meet you in the library later then?" He asked. Tessa relaxed, taking a deep breath. She nodded. Will smiled, heading for the door. "Great. I'll see you then."

Just as he was about to leave, there was a knock on Tessa's door. "Miss Gray?" It was Sophie. Will looked back at Tessa, a look of '_what do I do?'_ on his face. Tessa panicked.

"Just wait a moment, please Sophie." Tessa called. Will walked over to her, as silently as possible. Tessa pointed to the small wardrobe in the corner of her room. "You need to hide. Get in the closet." she whisper-yelled to Will, who nodded as he went over and hid inside, shutting the closet door. Just then, there was another knock.

"Miss Tessa? Is everything alright?" Sophie called from the other side of the door.

"Everything's just fine! You can come in now!" Tessa called back. Sophie opened the door.

"Wow, you look amazing this morning." Sophie noticed how she didn't have the usual dark bags of lack of sleep under her eyes. Tessa smiled.

"Yes. I feel quite well too. No nightmares last night." Tessa beamed.

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><p><strong>AN. Yeah... That was a bit awkward_... _I tried to write something to lighten up this chapter... I think you can assume, fluff is _not_ my forte. So, I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter... I don't have much more to say... other than the usual last bit:**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N. Here's chapter 7... Sorry it took so long! But, on the bright side, ****I really think this chapter is going to be the start of happier days. (There will still be bad days, isn't there always?) I hope it's just as good as the others, if not better!**

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><p>"Wow, you look amazing this morning." Sophie noticed how she didn't have the usual dark bags of lack of sleep under her eyes. Tessa smiled.<p>

"Yes. I feel quite well too. No nightmares last night." Tessa beamed. Sophie came over and helped her dress, and do up her hair in an updo, complete with deep violet hair pins. Tessa smiled. "Thank you very much Sophie." Tessa said, politely. Sophie nodded and left.

Once the door was shut, Tessa ran over to the closet, opening it up for Will. "Never, ever, _ever_ lock me in your closet again." Will said, breathing heavily as he took a step out.

"Oh, please. I doubt it was that bad. I thought Shadowhunters weren't afraid of anything, let alone _the amazing William Herondale._" Tessa countered, sarcastically.

"I never said I was afraid, I just _really_ don't fancy small enclosed spaces. I could hardly breathe, with all the thick dresses crammed around me, it was hard." Will complained. Tessa couldn't help but laugh. Will shook his head. "Fine, laugh at my pain." Will crossed his arms over his chest.

"Aww, is someone being an angry little boy?" Tessa teased. A ghost of a smile crept up onto Will's face as he went over to Tessa and picked her up by her waist, swinging her over his shoulder. "Put me down, Will!" She giggled as he spun around. It'd been so long, too long, since either of them had had this much fun.

He stopped twirling after awhile, but he still held onto her. "Say your sorry." Will threatened, playfully.

"Never!" Tessa let out a squeal as he tossed her onto the bed.

"I will never let you leave." He stood at the side of the bed, not making any plans to move for the next while. Tessa shook her head. "Fine then." Will said, as he crawled up the bed, trailing kisses along her neck, collarbone and jawline. Tessa let out a peal of laughter. Will smiled at her, as he pulled back.

"I'm sorry!" She surrendered, defeated. Will smirked at her, as he stood up.

"Good." He pulled her up. They stood together in the room. The sun had just risen, and the light hit Tessa in the most amazing way, it looked as if she were physically glowing, or even, on fire. "You're gorgeous." He mumbled as he pulled her towards himself. Tessa went up on her toes and gave him a feather light kiss.

"I would love to stay here, but, I actually am a bit hungry." Tessa admitted. Will nodded, as she grabbed her hand and walked towards the door. Tessa stopped before they left. "Wait. We can't go together."

"Why not?" Will asked. Tessa felt a bit silly as she dropped his hand.

"I'm just not ready for them to know." she confessed, looking to the floor.

"Well, how about we walk there together, and when we're close, we can resume to act as if we don't get along?" Will suggested, she looked back up at his eager face, and shook her head.

"I would love that. Really, I would. But my room is across from Jem. I don't want him to get an idea, if he sees us leaving my bedroom, together." Tessa looked back to the ground, feeling even more ridiculous. Will nodded, he opened the door, looked around then left, fairly quickly. Tessa sighed in relief as she went to walk out, after Will was no longer in her line of sight. She took a few steps out into the hall way, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Good morning, Tessa." It was Jem, smiling brightly as she turned around.

"Oh, yes, Jem, um hello." Tessa stuttered. Jem looked at her, his brow furrowed.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Tessa just laughed lightly, it was a bit of a panicked laugh, but she tried to keep smiling.

"Yes, I am. Just fine. A bit tired is all." Tessa said. Jem nodded, offering her his arm.

"Shall we?" he asked. Tessa wanted to say 'no' or ignore him, but she didn't want to hurt him. So, she nodded, accepting his arm.

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><p>Will sat in the dining room, awaiting Tessa. He could see her approaching, when she entered the room with Jem. <em>Jem, get your hands off <em>my _Tessa!_ Will mentally shouted. They approached and sat down on either side of himself. "What was he doing?" Will demanded, silently, to Tessa. She frowned at his comment.

"Relax Will. He was just walking me down to breakfast." Tessa grabbed his hand under the table. "It's okay. Nothing happened." Will let out a sigh of relief before nodding.

Someone stormed into the room, clearly annoyed by something. "Are you alright?" Tessa asked upon seeing Charlotte enter the room, appearing as if the might explode.

"No. I am not. We have less than 10 days to find Mortmain, and that hypocritical, obstinate, imbecile, is denying helping us!" Charlotte exclaimed, banging her hand against a wall, Tessa jumped at the sudden sound, she'd never seen Charlotte so distressed.

"Who are you talking about? Why can't he help? Would it not be easier to go and find him?" Tessa knew she was asking many questions, but her curiosity got the best of her. Charlotte took a deep breath, as she walked over to the table and sat down.

"It's Aloysius Starkweather. That rat refuses to meet with either I, or Henry." Charlotte said, calmly. Tessa was amazed how quickly she could calm herself.

"What if one of us go?" Jem suggested. Will seemed to perk up at the idea.

"Yes! Send me, I would love to knock some sense into that man." Will exclaimed, excitedly. "Oh, and get what information he has." he added. Charlotte sighed, rubbing her temples.

"No, Will. I am _not_ letting you go alone." Charlotte said, sharply.

"What if I were to go?" Jem asked.

"It might be alright. But, good luck getting that old man to give you _anything_ of use for our investigation." Charlotte looked to them. "I honestly don't see the point." She admitted.

"What if _I_ went, too?" Tessa suggested. "I could get him to tell us anything." she said proudly.

"No, you can't. He will never talk to you, or any of us." Charlotte scowled as the door opened again, revealing Jessamine.

"Who can't do what?" She asked as she took her seat across from Tessa. Jessamine looked around the room, zoning in on Tessa. "You will not believe what I saw, last night." Jessamine spoke up, with a sly grin on her face. Will and Tessa tensed.

"Why were you up late last night, Jessie? I thought you haven't been feeling well?" Jem said, looking curiously over to Jessamine. Will and Tessa silently thanked Jem, for the change of subject. Now it was Jessamine's turn to panic.

"I wasn't. You must've heard me wrong." She said coolly. Charlotte cleared her throat, indicating her presence.

"We are not talking about the events of last night. Now, Tessa," Charlotte turned to look at her. "What do you mean, he will tell you anything? He is nothing but a cold old man with no emotions for anyone but himself." Charlotte sounded murderous, just thinking about the man angered her.

"But, if I can get something of his, I can _become_ him." Tessa suggested.

"That's complete nonsense." Jessamine rolled her eyes. Charlotte took Tessa's idea into consideration.

"It's a mad idea, but, it's a mad idea that just might work." Charlotte said, smiling. Tessa smiled too, feeling proud for coming up with such an idea.

"Why not send Jem and I to retrieve whatever she may need." Will looked to Tessa. "It will be a long journey. We must board a train. You know how awful those things can be." Will claimed. Tessa shook her head.

"No, I've never been on a train. I would love to go, I want to help." Tessa fought. "It's partly my fault why this whole thing started, and I want to do my best to help end it." she announced. Will shook his head disapprovingly.

"You won't even like the train. You are not coming." Will denied.

*****"I won't know if I like it until I try it, will I?" She dropped his hand from under the table.

"I've never swum naked in the Thames, but I know I wouldn't like it." Will snapped.

"But think how entertaining for the sightseers..." She trailed off, she saw a flash of a smile on Jem's face.

"Let's just let her come. It's not a problem." Jem added.

"Yes, the three of you will be going. It's settled." Charlotte stated.

Will sighed defeated. "Fine, when are we leaving?" He asked.

"You will be leaving tomorrow morning." Charlotte announced. Tessa smiled victoriously. "I'll send him a letter, he'll be expecting you."

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><p><strong>AN. Yay! This is actually going somewhere now! I just want to say, if you don't see your ideas right away, don't worry. I am trying my best to incorporate them all, but, they can't all fit in whenever. I hope this chapter lived up to any expectations! I just want to mention, everything that's happening (if you haven't already figured it out) in this, is taking place _during_ Clockwork Prince.**

***Clockwork Prince, Page 75**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N. Chapter 8... I think people will start to like this a bit more... I'm kinda re-writing Clockwork Prince, it seems, but as if it had happened differently... Not that I didn't already love it. Cassandra Clare has a brilliant mind, she also owns all of these characters... I just felt like I had to say that once, even though you all knew that.**

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><p>Will sighed defeated. "Fine, when are we leaving?" He asked.<p>

"You will be leaving tomorrow morning." Charlotte announced. Tessa smiled victoriously. "I'll send him a letter, he'll be expecting you."

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><p>Once they finished their breakfast, the trio headed to the drawing room, just for sometime to discuss what it was that they'd exactly be doing on their trip to York. Tessa was the first to speak up, addressing her question to Will. "Why were you so against me joining you?"<p>

"Because, I don't want you to be there. It's dangerous, and there are just things about that man, he's not the nicest, let alone the most social." Will flopped down on one of the long sofas.

"It's fine, Will." Jem spoke up from his spot on the floor. "Tessa won't be easily bothered by him. I mean, not even _you_, Will, bother her." Jem said. Tessa looked back and forth between the boys, sitting on the floor across from Jem, with her back leaning against the sofa, where Will's feet rested.

"How will we introduce him to Tessa? She's clearly not a Shadowhunter, he _really_ doesn't fancy downworlders either." Will pointed out.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Tessa said, looking over her shoulder at Will.

"But what if there's a fire at the bridge, and we aren't prepared for it?" Will countered. Tessa was confused, as was Jem.

"It's a metaphor. I just mean that, we can figure out that problem, when we get to it." Tessa confirmed.

"As was mine. It was a metaphor that if you don't plan ahead, you might be faced with another problem that you didn't see coming." Will nudged the back of Tessa's head with his foot. "We don't want to get stuck in a place where we have no idea what to do. I know enough from personal experience, it's not a good place to be." Will said, looking at Tessa.

"I guess it's not a bad idea." Jem admitted.

"Okay, so, who am I?" Tessa asked.

"Maybe she's our aunt?" Jem suggested. Will shook his head. "No, I guess not. She doesn't really look like either of us."

"Maybe she's a young girl whose fallen madly in love with me, and demands to follow my every step?" Will suggested. Tessa eyed him, suspicious that he may say too much about them, in front of Jem.

"Will, her talent is _shape shifting,_ not_ acting_." Jem said. Tessa looked down, _if only you knew,_ she thought. "Perhaps she's my fiancée, awaiting her Ascension?" Jem suggested.

"Why not mine?" Will asked. Tessa didn't want to hurt either of them, so she stayed silent. Jem looked up at Will and shook his head.

"Because _I_ said it first, it was _my_ idea, and what do you care?" Jem was sounding suspicious, almost as if he were onto something.

"Fine. She's _your_ fiancée." Will said, defeated. Tessa stood up and walked over to the window.

"It's nearly afternoon, I have training this evening. I wish to get to packing." She said, walking out of the room. The boys nodded to her as she walked out of the room.

Once she left the room, Will turned to Jem. "Why your fiancée?" He asked.

"Why do you care?" Jem tried answering his questions the same way Will did, with another question. "I already said, it was my idea." Jem answered. Will gasped.

"You like Tessa, don't you?" Will accused. Jem laughed at the comment.

"Well, yes, of course I like her." Jem confessed. "But, only like a _friend_." Jem lied, but Will thought it was truth, he felt less tense when Jem said that. "Does that bother you? I was under the impression that you didn't like her all too much." Jem said, curiosity in his voice.

"It's not that I dislike her. I actually do think she's a great person. I just don't know her that well." Will lied, he felt guilty, more guilty that usual, he lied a lot in his life, but he felt bad about lying to Jem.

Jem stood up, walking over to the door. "Well, I must agree with Tessa's previous statement, I shall go pack my things." Will stood up, walking over to join his _parabatai_ at the door.

"Make sure you bring enough." Will grabbed Jem's shoulder.

"Sure." Jem nodded, and with that he left. Will sighed, walking down the halls to the library. Not really to read, just to clear his head.

Upon his arrival, he was surprised to see Tessa. "What are you doing in here?" He asked, rounding a corner. Tessa jumped back, surprised by how silently Will had entered.

"I was looking for something to read." She walked over to him. "But, it can wait."

"It can, but we need you ready, so you can train with those hideous creatures." Will took her hands in his.

"They aren't hideous." Tessa smiled, as she saw Will's face turn into a mildly horrified grimace. "Gideon and Gabriel? They're actually quite good looking."

*****"I spoke, of the pitch-black inner depths of their souls."

Tessa laughed. "And what color do you suppose the inner depths of _your_ soul are, Will Herondale?"

"Mauve." Will said, without a second guess. Tessa couldn't help but laugh again.

"You really are full of nonsense." Just then, Sophie walked in. She was a bit taken aback upon seeing Will and Tessa, holding hands. Will connected eyes across the room with Sophie.

"And that, Tess, is how to break a hand." Will said. He truly was good at making scenarios up, on the fly. "Of course, I didn't break yours, but you get the idea." He made sure to project his voice, loud enough for Sophie to hear. He dropped Tessa's hands, as he walked out of the room, Tessa stared after him, slightly confused, until she saw Sophie.

"We need to get changed for training." Sophie began to walk out, followed by Tessa. The two girls separated as Tessa continued on to her own room, doing her best to remove her dress and throw on her training gear as fast as she could.

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><p>She walked into the training room, to see Sophie and Gideon already training, very closely together, Gabriel standing impatiently, and <em>Will<em> sitting on a bench, eating an apple. "You're _late_." Gabriel growled. Tessa shrugged and walked over, grabbing one of the swords. "You're still holding it wrong." his voice was growing more annoyed by the seconds.

"Maybe if I had a better teacher, I wouldn't be." Tessa muttered to herself, turning away. She repositioned her stance.

"I heard that." Gabriel growled. Tessa shrugged.

"What are you going to do about it?" She turned to face him, a sly grin on her face. Will was laughing, and Sophie and Gideon stepped away from each other, and Gabriel froze, all eyes on him.

What Gabriel did next was unexpected. He grabbed the sword from Tessa and put the blade to her throat. Will's laughter ceased, and Gideon took a step towards his brother. "Gabriel," his voice was calm, "put the sword down. This is unnecessary." Gabriel lowered the sword, but it remained on Tessa's shoulder. Will took a few steps so that he was standing behind Tessa.

"What's going on?" Sophie asked, still standing farther away. Gideon took a few steps back, standing in front of her, as if shielding her from the scene.

"Nothing you need to worry about, my dea-" Gideon abruptly cut off his words, his face reddening, along with Sophie's. He cleared his throat. "Nothing, my brother is just acting like a child." Gideon turned to the door, and began to walk out. "We shall be leaving now." he said, stopping to wait for Gabriel to join him.

"Stop acting like you own me. I can do what I want! I am an _adult_." Gabriel spoke sharply, the sword still resting on Tessa's shoulder. "You won't have to treat me so when our _father_ runs this place. Never again will I need to see any of your faces." Gabriel exclaimed, throwing the sword to the ground in a loud clatter as he joined his brother and left.

"How dare he act like that!" Tessa picked up the sword, returning it to the stand near the wall. "He acts as if we've already lost this place, then, he threatens to throw us all out!" Tessa groaned in frustration, sitting on a bench near the wall, putting her elbows on her knees, and head in her hands.

"Tess, it's alright. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Neither of them do." Will sat next to her, watching Sophie run out of the room. Tessa nodded, sitting up and looking into Will's deep violet-blue eyes. "I would never let him throw you out. Not without me." Will said, pulling her into his side. She let out a loud sigh, before leaning into his side.

"I know you wouldn't." She smiled. "I just really thought we were all on better terms by now." Tessa huffed.

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><p><strong>AN. Another chapter finally finished! I hope you all liked it!**

** Also, I wanted to say, I just put up a Wessa one-shot awhile ago... It's all fluff... But, it does have some spoilers for Clockwork Princess.**

***Clockwork Prince, Page 86.**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N. This is chapter 9. I really don't have any trigger disclaimers or any warnings... all smooth sailing here!**

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><p>"Tess, it's alright. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Neither of them do." Will sat next to her, watching Sophie run out of the room. Tessa nodded, sitting up and looking into Will's deep violet-blue eyes. "I would never let him throw you out. Not without me." Will said, pulling her into his side. She let out a loud sigh, before leaning into him.<p>

"I know you wouldn't." She smiled. "I just really thought we were all on better terms by now." Tessa huffed. Will shook his head, leaning it back against the wall.

"No one will ever be on good terms with the _Lightworms._" Will said, Tessa tilted her head back, looking at him.

"Really, Will? Light-_worm?_ Surely you haven't stooped _that_ low." She rolled her eyes. Will laughed, straightening himself up as he did.

"Oh yes, I have." Will kissed her cheek, and smiled.

"I really don't know how Charlotte can handle you. Especially when you were young." Tessa shook her head, straightening up, then standing. "You truly are driving me mad." She began to walk to the door, Will hopped up and caught up with her, walking out with her.

"So, what are we doing now?" Will asked, grabbing Tessa's hand.

"Well, I don't know about _you_, but _I_ need to finish packing." she replied as they walked. Will nodded.

"I shall help you." he announced, determinedly. Tessa shrugged, there was no way to convince him otherwise, what harm could he do?

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><p>Once they arrived to Tessa's room, Will went and sat on the edge of her bed, while Tessa went to grab a trunk from her closet. "What exactly <em>should<em> I bring?" she wondered aloud, placing the trunk on the bed, next to Will.

"You need only to think of what you do _not_ need, and it will be then that you will discover what you _do_ need." Will said, sounding too complex for... _Will._

"Will, you really don't make sense sometimes." Tessa shook her head, throwing a small pillow at him, which he caught.

"Yes, I do. You just don't understand such genius." Will said back, earning a laugh out of Tessa.

"Well, sir genius, can you teach me how to be of such intelligence?" Tessa mock-swooned as she sat next to him. Will chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into him.

"Why, I would never need to." He kissed her as Tessa wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling herself onto his lap.

The kiss deepened, soon it became heated. Will lifted Tessa so that her legs were straddled on either side of himself as he grabbed her waist with an iron grip. Tessa tangled her fingers in Will's hair, leaning down as she kissed him with a burning passion. One of Will's hands snaked it's way into her hair, he tugged it slightly, tilting Tessa's head up, exposing the soft skin of her neck. He began to kiss her down her jaw, trailing to her collarbone, earning soft moans from Tessa.

Will trailed his kisses back up her jaw, capturing her mouth in an entrancing kiss. Tessa wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him as close as they could be, before they pulled away, gasping for air. "Well, that was... amazing." Tessa rested her forehead against Will's shoulder, loosening her hold on him as she spoke.

"I do have that effect on women." Will smiled as Tessa lifted her head, only to roll her eyes. "I do agree. That was amazing." He loosened his grip on her waist that he held so tightly. Tessa looked around the room, seeing that her packing was interrupted -not that she minded why- she let out a sigh.

"I best get back to packing, I don't plan on wearing the same thing the entire trip." She looked down at her dress, climbing of Will, as she flattened out the wrinkles and folds, where he had his hands. Will looked up at her, smiling. Tessa turned to see the smile on his face, feeling self-conscious, she turned back around, away from him. She went over to her wardrobe, grabbing two dresses, one a bit fancier than the other, and tossed them on the bed.

"Can I do anything?" Will asked, looking at Tessa's dresses, then back to her. She shrugged before waling back over to him.

"I don't know. I guess you could help me put these," she pointed to the dresses, "in my trunk." Will nodded, picking one up and attempting to fold it up enough to fit in the trunk. Tessa sat next to him, folding the other one small enough for it to fit. After some time, the two got Tessa's things packed and ready to go. By then, it was nearly diner.

"Are you ready to go?" Will asked, standing up and offering her his hand. Tessa nodded and grabbed his hand, standing up. "One more thing, I need to stop by my room, is that alright?" Will asked, Tessa shrugged.

"Why?" she asked, sounding slightly tired. Will went over to her night stand, opening it, moving the book, and grabbing her small blade.

"I need to hide this." He held up the blade. "And, I want to grab something. Seeing as you have nothing to read, I want to find you something." He smiled at her, gently kissing her forehead. "Let's go." They walked out of the room, hand-in-hand, unseen.

Once they arrived at his door, Will ran inside, making sure Tessa stayed in the hallway so she didn't know where he hid the blade. He came out a few minutes later, empty-handed. "I can't seem to find what I'm looking for, I can bring it to you later." he said, closing his door behind himself.

"That will be fine." Tessa said, looking down the hall. "Can we go eat now?" she asked, looking to the floor out of slight embarrassment. It wasn't like she'd asked him a personal question, but it felt awkward for her, considering how she thought of food. She looked back up at him, only to see a grin on his face. Will nodded and looped his arm around hers and they began walking to the dining room.

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><p>When they were one turn away from the dining room, Will let Tessa's hand fall. "From what I remember, you do not wish to be yet seen with me in this manor?" Will asked as they both halted. Tessa nodded and continued walking. Though Will was right, she couldn't help but feel slightly hurt. She knew that she told him she wasn't ready for anyone to know, but there was still a feeling of sadness that their love was to be hidden. A part of Tessa's mind screamed at her <em>it doesn't have to be hidden! <em>but, she knew she wasn't ready for that attention, especially with how Will had been to her, and how the others thought of him. With a sigh, she turned the corner and entered the dinging room, sitting down, leaving one seat empty between her and Jem.

"Good evening, Tessa." Jem said to her, smiling. Tessa smiled back.

"Yes, good evening." She noticed Jem looked slightly happier than usual, it was..._ odd. _He never really was sad or cross, but he just looked too excited about something. Just before Jem was about to speak again, Will interrupted by seating himself between the two, creating a barrier.

"Hello Jem." Will said, turning to face Jem. Jem was still smiling as he nodded at Will.

"Hello Will. Are you alright?" Jem asked, his smile slowly fading to a look of slight concern for his _parabatai_.

"I'm quite alright. Are you?" Will asked, an edge in his voice.

"Very. I was just speaking to Tessa." He said, his smile returning slightly. Will nodded and turned to Tessa.

"What did he say to you?" Will whispered harshly. Tessa rolled her eyes at him.

"Honestly William, you really think it matters?" She shook her head as she spoke, Will didn't look too pleased about not knowing. He wanted Jem to know Tessa was _his_... not officially yet, but soon...

"No, no it does not, _Theresa._" Will said back in a quiet, deep voice.

"Good. Now, I would like to return to my food." Tessa said, turning her attention to the plate infront of her as she ate. Will did the same, as did Jem, eyeing the pair suspiciously. He wondered why they always spoke quietly when talking to one another. Usually Will was a loud enough person to be heard. But Tessa, she was something else completely.

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><p><strong>AN. So, how did you like it? I know I pretty much have said this every chapter, but I _really_ would like some ideas. I _do_ know where I want this to go, but I want to know if there's anything anyone wants to see done, I want to make this story a good one, and I want some of your ideas... ****And, if they aren't in the next chapter or so, don't think I ignored them. I will try my best to incorporate them all, but I can't fit anything in wherever without it seeming too abrupt or awkward... From the few things I've had sent to me, I really like them. They really help inspire me to write more.**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N. ****Chapter 10! Wow, this feels like a HUGE accomplishment. I would like to thank everyone who has been following, reviewing and reading this, whether you've been here since I started, or if you're just stumbling upon this now. I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to read this.**

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><p>"No, no it does not, <em>Theresa.<em>" Will said back in a quiet, deep voice.

"Good. Now, I would like to return to my food." Tessa said, turning her attention to the plate infront of her as she ate. Will did the same, as did Jem, eyeing the pair suspiciously. He wondered why they always spoke quietly when talking to one another. Usually Will was a loud enough person to be heard. But Tessa, she was something else completely. Jem never found it odd how Tessa never was one to speak, but what he _did_ find odd was when she did, it seemed to be minimally, or only to Will.

"What are you doing?" Will asked his _parabatai,_ Jem looked down and realized he was scratching the table with his fork, staring off at nothing.

"I just lost my train of thought." Jem replied coolly. Will nodded slowly, furrowing his brows, before turning back to his own diner. _Nice save, Jem. Nice save. _Jem thought to himself, although Will probably didn't believe him. Just then, Henry entered the room. He was covered from head to toe in smoke and dust.

"What blew up this time, Henry?" Will asked sarcastically. Charlotte stood up and walked over to her husband.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, wiping the dust from his face with a handkerchief.

"Of course, Lottie! Everything is grand!" Henry burst out, throwing his hands in the air.

"What have you done this time?" Will asked, _yet again,_ without any real interest.

"I'm working on a device, and I think I may _almost_ have the correct formula! It's wonderful!" Henry exclaimed as he and Charlotte walked back to the table, sitting down, holding hands.

"What kind of _device_ are you working on?" Jem asked, curiously, from his seat. Henry smiled, it was rare anyone seemed to show any genuine interest in his devices.

"I can't say too much, but, what I do know is that it may be able to dismantle the automatons!" Henry beamed. Will looked surprised, as did Jem. Tessa was hardly paying attention as she slowly picked at her food. "I know, I know. It seems completely mad, but, I nearly have it right. And when I do..." Henry looked up, as if the future of his greatness was being displayed on the ceiling. Charlotte smiled as she looked around, noticing an empty seat.

"Where's Jessamine?" She looked behind her and around the room. "I could have sworn I saw her earlier." Charlotte looked confused as she looked to the others for answer.

"Well, she has been saying she isn't feeling well." Jem said, and Charlotte took it for the answer.

"So, off those matters, what time shall we be leaving for York?" Will asked, looking to Charlotte. She sighed.

"Well, it is a rather long trip. You will leave early in the morning, and arriving that evening." Charlotte stated. Everyone nodded as they finished their dinners, and soon left the room.

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><p>Tessa was sitting in her room alone. She and Will had decided they would see each other each night, only<em> after <em>everyone had fallen asleep. She looked impatiently at the clock. A quarter past 11 at night. She stood up and began to slowly walk to her door, looking out into the halls, and tiptoeing down the halls, to the library.

After getting lost only once, she arrived at their meeting spot, and sat down on the same sofa she had been on the previous night; glancing at the clock, it read _11:27_. There were still three minutes before their official time of half past eleven. She remained on the sofa, leaning her head back, her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier, so tired from the day.

But before much, she heard foot steps. Without looking, she knew it'd be Will. She _thought_ it would be. "Will," was all she said, before turning around, before seeing a familiar face. But _not _Will. It was not her saving grace, coming to rescue her. It was the complete opposite, really. It was _Mortmain._ He was here. He was reaching out to grab her. All she had time to do was scream-

"Tess! Wake up!" Tessa opened her eyes; now _this_ was Will. "Tess, it's just a dream." Will was holding her shoulders, gently shaking her, as she screamed. Her eyes flooded with tears, she quickly wrapped her arms around him, he returned the embrace, stroking her hair. "_You're okay. Everything's alright."_ he whispered as she wept softly into his chest. "Just tell me what happened." He cradled her in his lap.

"It was him... He came for... for me." She was still terrified, still afraid, even though it was only but a dream. Will already knew who she was referring to. He held Tessa closer -if that's even possible- and slowly rocked her, like a child, as she tried her best to stop, or just slow her tears.

"Tessa, you _know_ I would never let that happen to you, right? I will never let him take you away from me." Will said reassuringly to her. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and smiled at him.

"You would protect me?" She asked, her voice raw from her crying... again. Will nodded.

"Of course I would." He leaned in and kissed her. Tessa still had a few stray tears fall, but Will wiped them away, as he held her close, as she remained in his lap, with his arms around her. It was wrong. _So wrong._ She could almost hear her aunt Harriet screaming at her; but Tessa didn't care, because it felt _so right._

After a long time of sitting together, _a lot_ of kissing, and chatting back and forth, Tessa leaned her head against Will's shoulder, ready to fall asleep. "Should we retire to bed?" he asked. She nodded weakly, she rolled off him, and stood up. Will followed, standing up as they walked down the halls, -his arm around her waist, hers around his shoulder- to Tessa's room. She opened her door, and they walked in. Tessa needed to get changed still, but Will wasn't going to let her, as he stared intently at her.

"Will, please have some decency, and turn away so I can change." Tessa ordered.

"Why must I look away? Last night you didn't mind." he said, watching Tessa's face redden.

"You did not!" she whisper-yelled as Will smiled and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I didn't. But, I regret it now." He winked at her, in return for an eye-roll from her.

"Well, turn around, or leave the room for the rest of the night." she stated. Will sighed, turning to face the wall. "And no peeking!" she added as she to the side, keeping him on her left, and another wall on her right, and started to undress and redress as quickly as possible. When she turned to face him again, he was already facing her, smirking.

"That was quite a pleasant view." he remarked. Tessa was ready to slap that smirk off his face. _How did you miss him turn around!_ she mentally scolded herself.

"Please tell me you honestly did not watch me get changed." she begged.

"I don't think I can say that." Will shrugged. _Great,_ she thought, _not only did I miss him turn, but he saw me, side profile, naked!_ She felt embarrassed.

"Get out." She walked over to him, grabbing his arm and shoving him to the door. Will laughed as she shoved him, but immediately stopped upon seeing a tear fall down her face. _Oh ,you _really_ screwed up this time, Herondale._ he scolded himself.

"No, Tess. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to hurt you, I really didn't mean it like that!" Will stopped his rambling and tilted her head up to face him. She was grinning at him. Will was unamused, but couldn't help but smile. "I really didn't hurt you did I?" Tessa shrugged.

"Actually, you did. But, upon further observation, I should have seen this coming. It's my fault." She sighed, walking over to her bed, laying down. "Are you coming?" she called over from the bed. Will smiled and climbed in. He put his arm around Tessa, protecting her from whatever to come, as she rested her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry, Tessa." Will apologized, feeling guilt. She turned her head up and kissed his cheek.

"Don't be. It's not entirely your fault." She said, nearly asleep.

"Alright. Goodnight, Tess." he said, yawning.

"I love you, Will." Tessa whispered sleepily.

"And I love you, Tess." Will returned as they fell into a deep, peaceful, slumber.

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><p><strong>AN. Aww, wasn't that great? I really needed them to have a little fight, I needed to have Will mess up... It just came to me. I'm really trying to improve my fluff, and I really think this is pretty good. It was one of those chapters that's _really_ awkward to write, but at the same time, really fun.**

**And, I apologize for delaying the trip to York... I wanted to add a bunch of other things, before that, and ended up adding in _a lot_ more that I expected... But, as of the next chapter, they will _officially_ be leaving. **

**Also, I'd love it if you guys wouldn't mind checking out the poll I recently put up on my profile page... It's in regards to my Wessa story, should I continue it or not? I'd love it if you would vote!**

**Happy Halloween!**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N. Finally, the trip to York will begin... near the end... I was still trying to cram in a bunch of stuff and... yeah... But, it worked out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. So, without any more annoying rambling, here is chapter 11!**

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><p>"I love you, Will." Tessa whispered sleepily.<p>

"And I love you, Tess." Will returned as they fell into a deep, peaceful, slumber.

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><p>In the morning, Tessa awoke to a noise outside. Will was still holding her, but he was obviously awake. "What's that?" she asked, bolting upright, scanning the room.<p>

"They're just getting the carriage ready for us." he replied coolly. She nodded, laying back down.

"Shouldn't we get up now?" Tessa asked, rolling over, on top of Will. He smiled at her.

"Well now I don't want to." He smirked, grabbing her waist, holding her on him. Tessa leaned down and kissed him.

"Let's go. Before Sophie gets here." Tessa said, rolling off Will, standing with her arms crossed over her chest. Will sighed and stood up.

"Fine. but only because I don't want to be shoved into that dreadful wardrobe again." Will said, dramatically. Tessa shook her head, rolling her eyes. He walked behind her, wrapping his arms around hers, over her chest, swaying side to side with her, his head leaning down on her shoulder. "You're beautiful." Will said out of nowhere.

"Thank you." Tessa smiled at him, even though he couldn't see it.

She still had to stop herself sometimes just to take in the beauty of her life now. She had something she'd wanted for a long time. And that was a man who would love her, unconditionally. Someone that she could tell all her secrets, someone who could relate to her on some level, even if she didn't know why. And that was Will. Though something was missing. She always imagined when she found someone who made her feel the way she does now, that maybe she would know them better than she knew herself, that they could be 100% honest with each other, no secrets, no one-sided conversations. And that wasn't Will.

"Are you going to do anything, or can we just stand here like this forever?" Will asked, kissing her cheek. She smiled and turned in his arms. When she turned, she saw a look of concern wash up onto Will's face.

"What is it?" Tessa asked, self-consciously.

"Why are you crying?" He lifted his hand to wipe away a tear that found its way down her face. She realized she must've been because the slight emptiness in her heart. But, instead of saying anything, she just brushed it off.

"I think I got something in my eye." Tessa said, blinking a few times for good measure. Will nodded, pulling back from her.

"Well, as much as I'd like to stay here with you, I should get out of here. I agree with what you said, we don't want a repeat of yesterday." He kissed her cheek, and went over to the door. Before he could leave, the door-knob started turning. It was too late for anything. Will froze as the door opened, revealing Jem.

"Tessa, we should-" Jem stopped speaking when he saw Will. "What on earth are you doing here?" he asked, confused. _Oh I'm screwed. Royally, this time._ Will thought as Tessa walked up next to him.

"Oh, Jem. It's nothing. He just came to wake me up." Tessa explained. Will couldn't help but smile at her. She was becoming good at improvising scenarios, almost as good as himself.

"Okay, well, I should leave you then. I will see you soon then." Jem said, awkwardly walking back to the door.

"Oh, and Jem," Tessa called after him. Jem turned to see what she wanted. "Please knock. I wouldn't enjoy it if I wasn't completely ready and you walked in. It'd be rather uncomfortable." she said, Jem blushed and nodded, hurrying out of the room, shutting the door behind himself.

"You seem to be getting my quick thinking." Will remarked as Tessa stood by the door. She smiled.

"I learned from the best." Tessa said, walking back over to him. He grabbed her hands, pulled her forwards, and kissed her, then stepped back.

"I _really_ need to leave. I want to assure that I have everything ready, and I do not wish to have anymore people walking in." He walked to the door, waving a hand, before leaving.

When the door shut, Tessa waited for Sophie to help her dress. Soon after she was ready, Tessa walked over to the corner of the room where she had set her trunk, and dragged it over to the door. It was heavy despite the small quantity of supplies she had, just her two dresses and a few hygiene products. Nothing more, nothing less. She was not planning on bringing a book, it would distract her too much, but if she were to stumble upon anything, maybe she would. She grabbed her trunk and with a sigh, began to carry the heavy thing down the halls.

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><p>Tessa, Will and Jem were gathered down in the lobby, ready to leave. Jem and Will were talking back and forth, completely friendly as usual. But Jem seemed to be <em>happier<em> than usual. It was nice. He seemed to have more colour in his skin, and a more cheerful aura. Once they looked up from each other, they noticed Tessa and walked over to her. "Are you excited?" Jem asked, smiling.

"Yes, very!" Tessa replied, returning the smile. She looked to Will and noticed he didn't look quite a excited as herself and Jem. But, that was Will, and he was still a mystery, yet to be uncovered.

"Well, we have a long trip ahead of us; we best be on our way." Will said walking towards the door, followed by Jem, then, by Tessa.

Will hopped up onto the carriage, Jem stepped aside, letting Tessa through. She smiled as Will grabbed her hand from inside, helping her in. Jem was in quickly after Tessa and took his seat next to Will. Tessa was sitting alone opposite to them. "This is exciting!" she beamed. Jem smiled and Will shrugged.

"It won't be on the train. It's still not too late to back out..." He mumbled his last sentence, but she still heard it loud and clear.

"Oh, Will. Don't be like that. You know it's not nearly as bad as you make it out to be." Jem said, playfully shoving his _parabatai._

"Fine, but don't say I never warned you." Will said spitefully, looking out the window as they began moving. Though it wasn't her first carriage ride, Tessa was unprepared for the sudden movement, sending her flying into Will. He caught her, helping her back to her seat.

"Are you alright?" Jem asked concerned by her fall. Tessa nodded.

"I'm fine. I'm just still not quite accustomed to carriages and being pitched forwards by the movements." said Tessa, laughing at herself for being as clumsy as she was.

"Maybe you should sit on this side, so you only lean back." Jem offered, making room between Will and himself for Tessa. She thought about it, and went and sat between the boys. It was a tight fit, but they all managed to sit all three together, before Jem stood up. "I'm sorry, but I can't sit here. I need to breathe. I hope you don't mind." he said as he went to the other side, facing them, to sit.

"It's not problem." Will piped up, after his long silence. Jem smiled at his _parabatai_ as Tessa nodded.

"No problem at all." she whispered, only loud enough for Will to hear. Jem nodded, stretching his arms out, lounging lazily against his seat. It seemed more like something Will would do, rather than Jem.

"Well, by the looks of it," Jem looked out the window. "We're almost at the station." he said, earning an excited look from Tessa and one of annoyance from Will.

"This is so exciting!" Tessa exclaimed. Jem smiled, he was glad she was enjoying herself. Will on the other hand, he was not all too happy about her coming. It wasn't necessarily that he wanted her to stay home, but, he wanted her to be safe.

The carriage stopped and Cyril came around, opening the door. Jem hopped out first, offering his hand to Tessa. She accepted his help down, and soon after she was on her feet, Will was next to her. They grabbed their bags and walked into the station.

Once they arrived, it was quick to get on the train. Will sat facing one way, and Jem, the other. Tessa wasn't sure where to sit. On one hand, she longed to cuddle up next to Will, but on the other, Jem had been so nice to her during this whole trip. "Are you going to sit, or not?" Will asked impatiently, crossing his arms. Tessa quickly took her seat next to Will, who had a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Well, we have a rather long train ride ahead of us." Jem said to the pair across from him, who were sitting rather closely together...

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><p><strong>AN. Now they leave... _Now_, they have left... I really feel like I made that take waaaay too long. But, it was only morning when they discussed the topic of leaving to York anyways...**

*********On a side note, for later chapters... I've been thinking about bringing Cecily into this earlier on... what do you guys think? I mean, the trip to Ravenscar Manor will _definitely_ be within the next few chapters, and I thought maybe Cecily could be brought in around then, or later, or never. I'm not sure yet, but I'd love some input on the idea. The only thing I'm worried about is whether or not it's going to change the whole storyline too much... Either way, I'd love if you could go to my page and vote on the poll! (I ask you of this now so I have some advanced input on how the chapter will go... whenever it is.)****

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests... _Keep in mind that this is a 'T' rated story_), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N. **Prepare yourselves... There will be Heronstairs friendship feels ahead! ****

**There will be some spoilers in this chapter if you haven't read Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess... Mainly about Will's curse and Jem's sickness, and a bit on Will's background. But since it's a small look at all that, and a short part, it should be fine.**

**And note, I said _friendship!_ This isn't gonna be Heronstairs romance. (I have nothing against it. I'm just saying it's not.)**

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><p>Once they arrived, it was quick to get on the train. Will sat facing one way, and Jem, the other. Tessa wasn't sure where to sit. On one hand, she longed to cuddle up next to Will, but on the other, Jem had been so nice to her during this whole trip. "Are you going to sit, or not?" Will asked impatiently, crossing his arms. Tessa quickly took her seat next to Will, who had a ghost of a smile on his lips.<p>

"Well, we have a rather long train ride ahead of us." Jem said to the pair across from him, who were sitting rather closely together. Will nodded, Tessa smiled and Jem yawned. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to sleep for awhile. Wake me when we're at the half." he said, readjusting himself, so he was sitting sideways, leaning back against the side-wall and shutting his eyes. Tessa was feeling a bit tired herself. She leaned into Will, who wrapped an arm around her. He kissed her forehead. Tessa smiled as the train whistle blared and they began moving.

"Did you bring along a book?" Will asked to a nearly sleeping Tessa. She shook her head weakly.

"I didn't find anything that caught my eye, or was of any interest to me." she replied. "And, I don't want to be distracted on this trip." she added, closing her eyes. Will nodded and looked over at Jem. He noticed that, in recent days, Jem had seemed more upbeat, like something happened. He almost seemed _normal_. But, Will knew, it would come back. Jem's sickness would return, and one of these days, it will be his end. Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, Will mentally scolded himself, _we will find a cure, we have to._ But he knew, deep in his heart, Jem would never let them look for a cure, and it hurt.

It hurt to think of a world without his _parabatai._ Jem was as big a piece in his life as himself, he was _more_ than that. Will tried to rid himself of his thoughts, but to no avail. It was hard to love anyone, it was hard to share emotion with anyone. Jem was the first person he allowed himself to show any emotion for after he fled from his home, after he was cursed. And it was all because he knew Jem was dying. He knew it wouldn't be his fault, but he felt an indescribable feeling. He felt like he was _only_ Jem's friend _because_ he was already dying, but it wasn't that. It was never that.

It was so much more. Will had isolated himself for six months, then Jem showed up. A sickly young boy, around his age, with black and silver streaked hair, fair skin and dark grey eyes, almost silver. But Will didn't see him as who he did now. Then, he saw Jem as another person to shut out. He saw him as someone who would never keep up with himself. but buried deep, Will saw something else. He saw something he longed to have, _a friend._ But now, now Will saw his best friend, he saw his better half. And it made his heart contract to think of being alive in a world without Jem.

All his emotions were overwhelming, but he was an expert at hiding them, and it had become easy to rid his face of all emotion. Looking around, clearing his mind, he noticed Tessa had fallen completely asleep in his arms. He smiled down at her and planted a feather light kiss on her cheek. And then, he was back to his blank emotionless expression, hiding all thoughts from everyone and anyone looking his way.

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><p>When they were nearly halfway through their trip, Will was nearly asleep. Tessa was still asleep, as was Jem... But not for long. Tessa was still leaning heavily on Will, and his arm was still around her. Everything was rather peaceful, until Jem's eyes opened. "Will what are you doing?" Jem asked, sitting up. Will just about jumped out of his seat, startling a sleeping Tessa.<p>

"Nothing!" Will exclaimed, Tessa just groaned, her eyes still closed, as she cuddled up more to Will.

"Calm yourself, I'm still sleeping." she mumbled. Jem raised an eyebrow, and Will tried to push her away, gently, always gently.

"Tessa, I think you need to wake up now." Will urged, his eyes darting between his sleeping beauty and Jem. "_Now_, Tessa." Will spoke sharply, as Tessa sat up.

"I'm just _so_ tired." Tessa complained, rubbing her eyes, before she noticed Jem. When she saw him, wide-awake, she too nearly jumped out of her seat. "Oh, Jem, you're awake," she said, looking down to her feet, "and you're looking at me..." she whispered, embarrassed.

"Yes, I am." Jem stated, looking at the two suspiciously. "Is something going on here?" he asked indicating the two of them.

"NO!" Will and Tessa exclaimed in unison. They then looked at each other, and moved away from one another. Jem was a mix of confused and mildly entertained.

"Okay, then." Jem looked around, feeling awkward for addressing the topic, but still curious.

"How much longer until we're there?" Tessa asked, in hopes to change the topic. Will jumped on the subject change immediately.

"In about two more hours, at least." He looked out the window. "Possibly three, we've already passed through Stamford, but not much further." Will stated, looking to Jem. "So what should we do to pass the time?" he asked. Jem smirked, in such an un-Jem-like way, and said,

"I'm not sure about myself, but the two of you looked rather entertained moments ago." Tessa felt very ashamed, and Will just hid it all behind a scowl.

"This is not necessary, _James_." Will ground out.

"Whatever you say, _William_." Jem replied, with just as much sharpness. _James? William? This is getting serious..._ Tessa thought, remembering whenever her Aunt Harriet would call her or Nate by their full name, they were usually in trouble, or in an important talk.

"So," Tessa interjected, "what are we going to be doing when we arrive?" Tessa asked, once again eager to change the subject. Jem smiled, looking at Tessa, and back to Will.

"I'm not sure about myself, but-"

"Enough, James!" Will exclaimed. For once in his life, Will was almost ready to slap Jem. He knew, there were countless times Will deserved a good slap from Jem, but, this wasn't just Will who was bothered. Tessa was clearly embarrassed and affected by his words too.

"Okay, fine, fine. I'm done." Jem sighed, "you know, I was only joking. I know nothing is really happening."

"You do?" Tessa asked, astonished. She would have expected teasing like this from Will, but not so much from Jem.

"Well yes, it's pretty clear that this morning, Will was only waking you up. And, clearly you had fallen asleep, and Will was just trying to be a gentleman, and secure you. Trains can be quite jostling." Jem said, with a dismissive wave of his hand and a smile. Will felt a sense of relief wash through him, and Tessa was walking on air.

"So, now off this ridiculous topic, how are we introducing ourselves to this man?" Tessa asked, curiously.

"Well, he knows we are Shadowhunters, and Charlotte didn't say much about you. But, we did go over this yesterday. You are a mundane, and my fiancée." Jem said, smiling at Tessa.

"I know we discussed this earlier, but, I do have a question about that." Tessa said, looking back and froth between the two boys.

"Go ahead." Jem was listening, as was Will.

"I've wondered, is that allowed? I thought Shadowhunters could not marry mundanes." Will tensed beside Tessa.

"You ask too many questions." he growled. Tessa felt bad for asking, clearly having insulted Will. But Jem just shook his head at him.

"The more she knows the better. It will help her seem like an Ascendant." Jem pointed out. Will just shook his head.

"I need to walk, my legs are numb." And with that, Will got up, and walked out of their train cabin.

"Did I say something wrong?" Tessa asked, concerned. Jem shook his head and smiled at her.

"With Will, you never know. But, I wouldn't worry much about it." Jem said, Tessa nodded, relieved that all was well.

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><p><strong>AN. Yeah, Jem was kinda OOC in this chapter, but I just thought it would be necessary to set up some suspicions...**

** Now, off that topic! How were the Heronstairs feels? It destroyed me to write them, I was in full out tears while writing about Will's curse, Jem's sickness, and how their friendship began. It killed me, I just love their relationship to each other and how well they represent the true meaning of _'parabatai'_ it's just so amazing!**

**I also want to quickly say, I don't know much about traversing the UK... So, if I messed up on anything, I'm sorry. I hope what I wrote was accurate, but, I'm not sure how/if things have changed since 1878, and Google Maps only knows so much... Sorry if I messed something up!**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N. Ooooh, unlucky 13! Who's getting killed-off in this chapter?**

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><p>"Did I say something wrong?" Tessa asked, concerned. Jem shook his head and smiled at her.<p>

"With Will, you never know. But, I wouldn't worry much about it." Jem said, Tessa nodded, relieved that all was well, hopefully. "Anyways, your question. To answer it, no. It is allowed, but not in all cases. If one wishes to wed a mundane, they are to apply for an ascension to the Clave. Usually they are given several months before the application is approved, and during that time, they are to use it to study and train to be a Shadowhunter." Jem explained. Tessa nodded, trying to keep up. "However, in some cases, if the applicant is turned down for one reason or another, the marriage is not valid. But, it can still happen if the Shadowhunter agrees to sever all ties to the Shadowhunting world and life, then, it can still happen." Jem finished.

"That seems rather strict. If they're turned down, you can't marry unless you abandon everything you've known? That just sounds awful." Tessa said, shocked.

"And it's why most don't. With Shadowhunters, we tend to marry early because our life spans tend to be shorter, and, even though this life has a high chance to kill us, abandoning it for one person can be hard." Jem said, just as Will reappeared.

"Are you done?" He asked, flopping down next to Jem.

"What? Talking?" Tessa asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes." Will said, smirking.

"Well, not really. But, we can stop, I'm sure you have nothing of importance to do." Jem nudged Will.

"So, on the former topic, should I be wearing a ring, or something?" Tessa asked, ignoring Will's eye roll. Jem seemed to ponder the idea before he slid off his ring.

"You can wear this." He dropped the ring into Tessa's hand. It had a '_C_' on it, and a symbol, like a castle, on either side.

"It's beautiful." Tessa admired the ring, sliding it onto her left ring finger.

"It's my Carstairs ring. When Shadowhunters exchange family rings, it means things are quite serious." Jem said, looking at Tessa, who held her hand to, admiring the ring.

"Oh, well thank you, Jem. I promise to give it back to you when we leave." Tessa looked up at Jem, who was smiling. She glanced at Will who looked rather uncomfortable, and changed the topic, _again_. "So, is there anything that we should caution while we're there?"

"You needn't worry about a single thing, if you had stayed back at the Institute." Will muttered to himself. Jem gave him a disapproving look.

"Will, you need to drop it. She is here, and she will stay until we _all_ leave." Jem scolded. Will rolled his eyes and Tessa smiled.

"Thank you, Jem_._ You are such a gentleman." Tessa praised, Jem blushed faintly, but on his pale skin, it was as clear as day. Will looked at Tessa, clearly annoyed by her comment, but that was exactly what Tessa was trying to do.

The rest of the trip went on mostly silent, mind the few conversations that occasionally started, but died down fairly quickly. Once the trio arrived at the station, they stepped off of the train, and wandered around until they were met by a man, in about his mid 40's, who greeted them as their ride to the York Institute. It was a rather short carriage ride, it felt like seconds, after the long train ride.

When they arrived, they were met by several maids and servants who took their bags and ran them to rooms, before returning to start on dinner. Tessa wandered the halls with the boys, looking at all the large pictures hung on the walls. Will and Jem looked confused and disgusted at the vast number of photos of a young girl and several others hung in each corridor. "The way he _decorates_ the place." Will said quietly to the group.

"It's as if he _owns_ the place." remarked Jem. Will nodded in agreement.

"What's so bad about it?" Tessa asked, confused as to why this would be a problem.

"Well, I mean look at the place..." Will gestured to the pictures hung throughout the hall-way. "There are nearly more photographs in this hall way than there is wall space!" he exclaimed, annoyed. Tessa looked around her, he did have a point, though it was only this hall that held so many photos. The rest had less than three. Mind the huge portrait of a sickly looking young girl on the wall at the staircase.

"I don't think it matters, really. He just wants to have pictures of his loved ones, they clearly left, so what's it matter?" Tessa asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You don't get it. He doesn't _own_ the Institute. He only gets to be the head, when you take on the roll of head of an institute, you are not to do what you please with it, for you are not the only one who lives there, and it's just plain bizarre for visitors." Will shuddered, looking down the gloomy halls. "I honestly don't want to keep walking. Really. The witchlight burns unusually low in this place, and I really would not enjoy running face first into the next wall." Will said, turning on his heels, Tessa fallowing suit and Jem rolling his eyes before joining his _parabatai_ and mock fiancée.

After a long time wandering the halls again, they wound up at a big door. Being the curious person she was, Tessa wanted to take a peek inside, but Will quickly stopped her, his hand on hers, "Tess, do not open that door." Will scolded with wide eyes.

"And what does it matter?" Tessa protested, putting her hands at her sides.

"Well, honestly Tessa, you really shouldn't go around opening other people's doors." Jem said, shrugging. Will nodded.

"Fine, I apologize for nearly intruding." Tessa put her hands up in surrender. Will smiled and Jem just continued walking, leaving the two of them, alone... well, two meters behind himself. Tessa smiled at the faint privacy, taking the few seconds to plant a quick kiss on Will's cheek, before catching up with Jem. Will smiled at her _that's my Tessa, _he thought, putting his hand to where she had kissed him before catching up with Tessa and Jem. A servant had met them on their aimless wandering, informing them of dinner being ready. "Good, I'm famished!" Will exclaimed, following the servant down to the dining room.

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><p>If anyone was expecting a beautiful dinner of delicious fresh food, they were in the wrong place. For the only food on this table, seemed to be stale old bread, some very unappetizing gooey stew, and some unidentifiable vegetable. Will prodded at the vegetable with his fork "What <em>is<em> this?" he asked, barley audibly, to Jem. Jem, being the courageous boy he was, took a bite of it, chewing it carefully, studying the flavour, before swallowing.

"It's a parsnip." Jem claimed.

*"A parsnip planted in Satan's own garden." remarked Will. He glanced about, "I don't suppose there's a dog I could feed it to."

"There don't seem to be any pets about," Jem, who loved all animals, even that beast of a cat Church, observed.

"Oh, just be brave and at least _pretend_ to eat it." Tessa scoffed, taking a bite for herself, then, making a sour face. "On second thought, don't" she gagged. Will made a face, saying _I told you so_.

"Good evening." A voice boomed from the other side of the table. The trio looked up, looking to the voice. It was Aloysius Starkweather. "I would apologize for being late, when in fact, you were early." Tessa nodded, but the boys simply narrowed their eyes at the old man, studying him carefully, before slowly nodding.

"So, when are we going to discuss-" Tessa began, but was stopped by Will kicking her under the table. She shot him a pained glare, and he shrugged apologetically before Jem chimed in.

"Not yet. We aren't ready to bring it up yet. And before you say anything, he knows that's why we're here, but we shouldn't bring that up on our first conversation." Jem spoke softly to her.

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><p><strong>AN. I kid, I kid! I'm not killing anyone off in this..._ yet_... But, I just had to have something terrifying in the A/N eventually!**

**(Now for the actual important note)  
><strong>**Okay, I brought up the trip to York in Chapter 6. They arrive in Chapter 13... Also a point I want to re-address, If you do not see your idea right away, I tend to do things like this. I put excessive detailing, and I can't just put a certain thing in wherever 'n the hell I want. It just doesn't work right. But, I will put other things in, if they fit into what's going on. So, again, if you don't see your idea, I promise, it's probably on my list somewhere, it just might not be used right away. (as long as it would fit in to a 'T' rated story. 'M' rated material does not belong in this.)**

**Once again, I would like to bring up Cecily. The trip to Ravenscar manor will begin in the next chapter, and I would love some more votes on the poll, so if you wouldn't mind taking a few minutes out of your day, I'd love it if you went to my profile, clicked on the poll (it's at the top, for those who don't know) and vote on what you would like to see. I will close it once the next chapter is up, and put the 'Wessa' poll back up then, I would still love votes on that!**

**Btw, after re-reading this chapter, I realized it was kinda lame... Sorry if it sucked, nothing really exciting happened...**

***Clockwork Prince; Page 105**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N. CHAPTER 14 HAS NOW BEEN RELEASED! I have absolutely no idea why I wrote what I did, the way I did... Anyways, prepare yourselves for a short, but sweet, fluffy Wessa scene in the middle... I hope everyone like this chapter!**

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><p>"So, when are we going to discuss-" Tessa began, but was stopped by Will kicking her under the table. She shot him a pained glare, and he shrugged apologetically before Jem chimed in.<p>

"Not yet. We aren't ready to bring it up yet. And before you say anything, he knows that's why we're here, but we shouldn't bring that up on our first conversation." Jem spoke softly to her. Tessa nodded, but still not completely understanding as to why she could not address the reason they came.

The dinner carried on pretty silently. Once everyone finished, the table was cleared, and the trio was escorted by Aloysius Starkweather out of the room. "I'm under the impression you have all showed yourselves around the Institute and have been shown to your rooms, correct?" he asked. Will and Jem nodded, and Tessa did soon after, seeing as the others were. "Great. Less things I must do. Now, refresh my memories. Why did Charlotte send you, _Shadowhunters,_ here, and, _her_?"

"Well, our friend is my fiancée, and Ascendant. And why are we here? To see if you could aid us, in any way on our investigation in finding the whereabouts of Mortmain. In short, can you supply us with any information on the Shades?" Jem explained, earning a look of shock from Will. Jem wasn't always the one to take initiative in the missions, but he surprised them all by being the first to speak. The old man nodded in response.

"We'll get to that later. I can say though, that in my hunt for my spoils, they would have been a nice addition to my collection." Aloysius remarked. Tessa cocked her head to the side.

"Spoils? What are those?" she asked, innocently. Will and Jem noticeably tensed. Aloysius laughed.

"My dear, if you haven't seen spoils before, I'd be glad to show you mine." he said as they turned down another hall, leading to the door Tessa was so drawn to earlier and nearly opened. He opened the door, and Tessa nearly fell back at the shock of seeing severed heads of people with things like antlers, or an extra eye or so. She began panting heavily, feeling nauseated at the sights of what she saw. Aloysius stepped in, signaling for the trio to follow him, but Tessa wasn't going to budge. Will stayed back and Jem took one step forward.

"Tess, you need to know it isn't like this anymore." Will murmured to her, but she could hardly hear anything he said as her mind started swimming in the darkness. Jem was quick to talk, trying to get them all to move on from here. While Will, was cradling her as she began to sink into him.

"My fiancée, she's never seen spoils. Doesn't fancy that sort of thing... sight of blood..." Jem's voice became a distant whisper as she was engulfed by the darkness.

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><p><em>Tessa was laying on a table, her chest was cut open, she was still breathing, though she had no more lungs or a heart. Inside her chest, was all intricate work of metal and wire. She was an automaton. She never was real. Around her, voices floated through the air, "I can hardly believe the work on her. She is a masterpiece" was one voice, followed by another's response, "I completely agree. She's such a lovely piece of art. Almost hard to believe she wasn't human. The way she could talk, walk and do everything, was perfection." There was a laugh, and more talking, but Tessa could only stare in fear, seeing her <em>true_ self, seeing herself split open, looking down as if from another's point of view, all she did was scream. Scream at the monstrous _thing_ she was, scream at what she never thought to be true._

Tessa shot up, like lightening, screaming. _So that part was real._ She thought. Looking to the doorway, she saw it was wide open, and in the doorframe, now rushing over to her, was Will. He was quick to pull her into his arms, he was quick to get to her before her emotions did. He held her, tight in his arms, stroking her hair whispering over and over, "_you're fine, it's alright, I'm here, you're safe, you're alright, everything is alright."_

"It felt so real. It just all seemed so real." Tessa whispered into his chest, her voice shaky and weak. Will kissed the top of her head, pulling back to look her in the eyes.

"I know how real dreams can feel. I know Tess, I know." He cradled her in his arms, sitting with her on the edge of the bed.

"It just felt so real, I have no way to say otherwise." Tessa shook her head, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"It wasn't. Whatever it was, whatever happened, it was just a dream. A really horrible dream." Will soothed. "Damn that Starkweather for showing you such atrocities. You need to know that it isn't like that anymore. Spoils aren't prohibited anymore. I would never let anything happen to you." Will laid his head on hers, glancing at the clock, in the dimly lit corner, _3:48_. "Tess, it's too early to be awake, you need to go back to sleep." Will said, lifting his head and repositioning himself. Tessa shook her head.

"I don't want to sleep. I don't want the nightmares." She cuddled up closer to Will, who knew he couldn't stay but ached to. He stood up, leaving Tessa to look up at him with a pout.

"Don't give me that. I can't sleep here, I can't do that. I want to, so much. If it meant keeping you safe from the dreams, chasing away the nightmares, keeping them out of your head, keeping you in the safety of my arms, then I will stay with you until you fall asleep, but no longer." Will made sure to emphasize the importance of not staying until morning.

"Yes. It does mean all of those things to me, and you will be here, until I am sleeping." Tessa yawned and lied down, waiting for Will to join her. When he did, she wrapped herself in his arms, earning a smile from Will. "Goodnight." Tessa whispered.

"It's nearly four in the morning." Will pointed out.

"Stop talking." Tessa said, her eyes drifting shut, and she was out like a light.

Will tried his best to lay Tessa back on her pillows, quiet and steadily, trying not to wake her, and climb out of the bed. He saw her hands reaching out to the empty space beside her, looking for something, _someone_, to hold onto. Feeling guilty, Will took one last look at her before quietly creeping out of the room.

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><p>The next morning was quite uneventful. Tessa made her way out of her room, down to breakfast later that the others. Upon seeing the dark bags of lack of sleep under her eyes, Will felt bad for abandoning her, but still knew he couldn't have stayed with her. They were being told about a piece of property that was previously owned by the Shade family and the whereabouts of it. Being rather close, it was decided that Jem, Will and Tessa would leave for it soon after breakfast was finished.<p>

They were quick to finish up and get themselves ready. Tessa was walking down to the doors, seeing Will and Jem were already there waiting for her. They loaded onto the carriage and were off just as quickly. For the first half of the ride, it was silent. But, later on, Will noticed that Jem seemed to be periodically looking out of the window in the carriage, he looked uneasy about something. "Are you alright?" Will asked his _parabatai_, a tone of worry lacing his voice. Jem nodded, but Will didn't believe him. He looked out of the windows, seeing nothing. But, he did a few more times along the way, catching a glimpse at something, it had no face, and appeared to be following them. "Jem, what is that?" Will asked, though he already had an idea. Tessa grew worried, seeing as the boys, already were.

"What is it? What's out there?" Tessa asked, her eyes darting between the boys.

"Splendid, now you have gotten Tessa worried." Will said, rolling his eyes, crossing his arms as he sunk back in his seat next to Jem.

"Jem, what is out there? What's wrong?" Tessa asked, definite concern in her voice.

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><p><strong>AN. Well, the results are in and Cecily is going to be in this story. As of next chapter, you will defiantly hear mention of her. Several things will be different from the original story line, but I have great plans to make this all work out... I do feel like I am getting in a little over my head with all of this though. I have so much going on and haven't been having good days. I just have so much in my head right now... I feel like I've gone a bit mad with how much I intend on writing... **

**Unrelated to my madness, there is a slight chance that the next chapter might be up a bit later than usual, I have an event next Friday and will be away for most of the day, I haven't gotten my schedule for it yet, but I'm not sure if I will have a chance to update... I hope I do, but if I don't, I apologize in advance.**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N. Wow, 15 chapters. Today, is also special, because three months ago today, September the fifth, I published this story. And since then. I have had 4500+ reads, 32 reviews, 15 follows and 7 favorites. I feel so accomplished in life... Well, I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

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><p>"Splendid, now you have gotten Tessa worried." Will said, rolling his eyes, crossing his arms as he sunk back in his seat next to Jem.<p>

"Jem, what is out there? What's wrong?" Tessa asked, definite concern in her voice. Jem bit his lip. looking out one more time before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"I _think_ it's an automaton." Jem said, immediately regretting saying it as he saw Tessa pale noticeably. "I'm not sure, I just said 'I _think_'." Jem added. Will exhaled loudly, shaking his head at Jem.

"No, it is. You know it." he encouraged Jem to spill the truth.

"Well, isn't anybody going to go out and kill it?" Tessa demanded, feeling unsafe. "What if it comes for us?"

"It's already coming for us! It's been following us for about half of this trip!" Jem exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, narrowly missing Will's head. Tessa looked mildly terrified as Jem was quick to try and comfort her. "I'm sorry Tessa. I really am. I didn't mean to frighten you." Jem grabbed her hand, rubbing small circles on it with his thumb.

"What are we going to do?" Tessa's voice was low, trying to keep it from breaking. Will looked at her sympathetically, wishing he could hold her close and tell her everything would be alright, but he couldn't, because Jem was there, and he wasn't sure that it _would_ all be okay.

"I'm going to destroy it." Will stated, Jem looked at him as if he had gone mad and Tessa looked at him like he had two heads.

"Alone? No, you aren't. Take me with you, and Jem. Or _at least_ one of us." Tessa pleaded. Will let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"Well, I'm not going out there and bringing you, Tessa. I am not going to let you go out and risk your life. And Jem," Will turned to his _parabatai_, "I doubt you thought we'd have a battle ahead of us, and you probably didn't take enough." Will shrugged as if to say '_what can you do'?_. Jem looked at Will, who was always ready to throw his life away if he had a chance, and shook his head.

"I actually _did_ take enough _yin fen_ and I will be coming with you." Jem stated before his gaze went to Tessa. "You, however, will be staying here. You will be kept safe in here and under no circumstances shall you follow us until we say so." Jem made sure his instruction was clear before he got their coachman to stop, allowing the boys to get out. Jem had just hopped out and Will was about to leave before Tessa stopped him, her hand grabbing his.

"Be careful Will. Please don't do anything unnecessary." she told him, Will leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before hopping out and following after Jem, who was already several metres ahead of himself.

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><p>"How do you suppose we deal with that thing?" Jem asked, glancing back at Will, who was now catching up to himself.<p>

"Like we always do. By _killing_ it." Will stated. Jem rolled his eyes at him.

"Always the one for the smart comments," Jem whispered under his breath. Will took off with a sprint towards the clockwork monster. but the automaton did nothing as Will, sword in hand, ran towards it. All it did was stand there, still as stone, and _spoke_. _*"I... am... a warning... from the Magister"_ Its metallic voice said.

_Oh like that matters,_ Will thought, before putting his blade through it's chest and repeatedly stabbing it, until it crumpled to the ground.

Jem came up behind him, startling Will slightly. "That was fast." he remarked.

"Yes, it was. Now let's get back." Will said, walking back rather quickly to the carriage. "There's no wreckage to investigate. Let's go." he threw over his shoulder to Jem, who was inspecting the shredded remains of the automaton.

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><p>Tessa was surprised at how quickly they got back. "That didn't take long. Did you destroy it? Is it gone?" Tessa asked upon their re-entry to the carriage. Will was panting, and Jem looked, and definitely was, out of breath.<p>

"It's gone. We destroyed it." Will said, catching his breath. Tessa smiled at Will as he climbed back into the carriage.

"My hero." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, knowing Jem was still outside, unable to see them. But, their reunion was cut short by a strangled coughing. _Jem_. Will threw the door to the carriage back open, and he saw Jem, who was on his hands and knees, coughing up blood. He ran over to Jem, kneeling beside him, Will's hand on his shoulder. Tessa came out soon after Will. She wasn't ready for what she saw. Coming closer, she could hear Will muttering things to Jem.

"You told me you took enough. James, this doesn't just happen. What's going on?" Will frantically questioned. Jem was shaking his head at Will, but not giving him any answer. Tessa came even closer, and could see that Jem was trying to talk, very quietly, to Will.

She couldn't hear all that he said, but what she caught was; _"...get her out of here... don't want... me like this..."_ Jem's voice was weak, weaker than usual. She knew something was wrong. Will nodded at Jem, patting his back twice and stood up, something like this was exactly what he had predicted would happen.

"Tessa, get back in the carriage. Please, keep yourself safe." Will had a wild look in his eyes, one of worry, and concern. Tessa nodded and went back in. She tried to figure out what Jem had said, what he meant, and decided it was probably not important. She occasionally glanced out, but couldn't see much.

They returned soon, Jem looked fine, a bit more pale than usual, but that was to be expected after what had just happened. They silently took their seats, Jem alone on one side, and Will next to Tessa. She wanted to ask if Jem was alright, but felt as if that would be a rather foolish thing to ask, when in fact, he was not alright. Being her paranoid self, Tessa glanced out of the window periodically, but there was never anything there. Will too, looked out several times, but not nearly as much as Tessa. He looked out one more time before saying, "I think we're here." He knocked on the roof of the carriage, and they stopped. Jem was the first to step out, who held out a hand for Tessa, but Will, being the who he was, took Jem's hand and hopped out. Tessa came out after them both.

"It's down there? I think there's a carriage coming in." Tessa pointed-out. Will and Jem looked to where she was looking, Jem and Tessa kneelt down, waiting for someone to exit, or enter, the carriage. Will stepped forwards more, waiting. It stopped, and the door was opened. A young girl, no older than fifteen, stepped out. Looking at her, Tessa thought she looked familiar. She had long black hair, which was tied back in a braid. From the distance they were at, they couldn't make out much. Tessa turned to see Will, who was a bit closer to the manor house than her and Jem. She went up beside him and looked at him. He was staring at the girl, when she got close enough, she heard him speaking.

_"Cecily..."_ he said, quietly. Cecily, a name Tessa had heard him say before, in the attic, several weeks ago. Will continued to stare after her, she was still standing near the carriage, and looked as if he had just seen a ghost. Tessa put an arm on his shoulder, and he fell to his knees. "_Cecily..._" he repeated the name at intervals. Jem came up behind them and kneelt down next to Will. Upon seeing Jem, Will stood up as quick as lightening and began to run down the hill towards the manor house.

"Will!" Jem exclaimed running after him. Tessa too, ran after them. "Will, stop." Jem jumped at him, nearly catching him, but falling to the ground.

"Cecily." Will said, louder than speaking, but slightly quieter than a shout. The young girl looked up, but Tessa didn't notice Will's sudden stop as she collided with him, effectively knocking them both to the ground. The young girl, presumably Cecily, was looking around, searching for the owner of the voice who had called her name.

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><p><strong>AN. That was intense... More or less... I loved writing this chapter, it was fun. **

**That was like, the shortest 'Authors Note' I've ever written... I feel like I ripped you off or something... I need to add more... How about a little info on the next chapter? Well, I can say, the next chapter will definitely have more drama and conflict and feels and suspense and all that fun stuff... prepare yourselves... ****My mood just took me over and I just went on a binge writing spree and finished the next chapter, maybe I'll put it up early... If I get five reviews for this chapter... Yeah, I've become one of _those_ authors, I will still update regularly with this story, extra chapters, come at an extra price. And, sadly, I won't be putting up extra chapters all the time, sorry.**

***Clockwork Prince; page 129**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N. Boom! Bonus chapter! I hope you guys like this one! _Annoying, excessive exclamation points!_**

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><p>"Will!" Jem exclaimed running after him. Tessa too, ran after them. "Will, stop." Jem jumped at him, nearly catching him, but falling to the ground.<p>

"Cecily." Will said, louder than speaking, but slightly quieter than a shout. The young girl looked up, but Tessa didn't notice Will's sudden stop as she collided with him, effectively knocking them both to the ground. The young girl, presumably Cecily, was looking around, searching for the owner of the voice who had called her name. Since they had all fallen to the ground at one point or another, nobody was seen. Will stood up, about to call for her again, but Jem caught up behind him, clamping a hand over his mouth.

"What is wrong with you?" Jem exclaimed, not taking his hand away as Will tried to call out to Cecily again. "Stop! You're going to draw attention to us. What's you problem?" Jem demanded, Will said something, muffled by the hand over his mouth. "Promise me that you will not call out, and I will let you speak." Jem said sternly. Will nodded, Jem took away his hand.

"I have nothing to say. You would not understand." Will shook his head. Jem sighed, and stepped back from Will. Tessa had materialized beside him and was still watching Cecily, who was near the door to the manor house, but lingering outside.

"Who is that? Do you know her?" Tessa asked, trying to get a clearer look at the girl. Will tensed slightly and nodded.

"I do." Will replied. Tessa looked to him, expecting more, but he looked away. "I do, and I will leave it at that." Will started walking away.

"She looks like you, you know. Don't play clueless with me. Who is she?" Tessa asked. Will wasn't turning around.

"She was nine. _She was nine._" Will whispered, regretfully. Jem was standing apart from the two, and seemed oblivious to anything Will and Tessa had said.

"Will, what are you talking about?" Tessa approached him, steadily, like she was afraid he might run off.

"Cecily. She was nine, when I..." he trialed off, looking down at the young girl. "When I _left._" He looked to the ground, sinking to his knees. Tessa stood beside him, glancing back at Jem who... wasn't there... She turned around, looking everywhere, but Jem was nowhere to be seen. Tessa looked down at Will, who seemed to be fighting with his inner turmoil, then back to where Jem wasn't. She put a hand on his shoulder, he turned to look at her, a look of conflict and worry on his face. But when Will saw her face, it was his expression mirrored. "What's wrong Tess?" he asked, grabbing her face in his hands. She pulled back, a serious expression coming back onto her face.

"Jem's gone." she said, panicked. Will furrowed his brows looking confused.

"What do you mean, gone?" he asked.

"Look around you," Tessa gestured to the fields around her, Will scanned the area. "Jem's _gone. _He's nowhere to be seen." Tessa repeated. Will jumped to his feet, knocking Tessa back. He held out a hand to help her up, and she accepted as he helped her to her feet. "Where should we check? It couldn't have been too long, where do you think he went off to?" Tessa asked, frantically looking around. Will put his hands on her shoulders, locking eyes with her.

"Tess, calm down. Let's try and think rationally." Tessa nodded, taking a deep breath. Will offered a half smile and dropped his hands. "Alright, so maybe he went back to the carriage?" Will suggested. Tessa nodded.

"It would be a good start." Tessa said, as they began to walk towards the carriage. It looked abandoned. It was odd. Even their coachman had disappeared. "Jem! Jem, are you out here?" Tessa called. There was no answer, the two called out for awhile, wandering aimlessly around the area.

"Maybe he went back to where we killed that automaton?" Will wandered aloud. Tessa shrugged.

"It wouldn't hurt to check, would it?" She looked around, Will had already began walking, and was barely in her line of sight. "Will! Slow down, wait!" she called. Will turned around, and called back to her.

"No, you stay here. In case he comes back, or if there are more there, I don't want you to get hurt. Stay in the carriage, or just outside if you must!" Will continued walking towards where he and Jem had been earlier. Tessa sighed, bothered by how Will was always implying that everything was too dangerous for her. She climbed back into the carriage, until Will was no longer visible.

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><p>Will ran, as fast as he could, to where he and Jem had previously been. When he got there, he saw movement, then a shape in the distance. It was a completely human shape, it was clearly Jem. But, there was another nearby him. Will apprehensively approached the pair and noticed that one of them for sure was Jem. But as he got closer, the other had disappeared. "Jem!" Will called out. Jem turned to Will, a frown on his face.<p>

"How did you find me?" he asked, looking to the ground.

"Why did you run off? You had Tessa and I terribly frightened." Will stated, walking closer to Jem.

"I saw another automaton. I went after it." Jem shrugged. Will looked taken aback by Jem's reckless behaviour. It was so un-Jem-like to do something so foolish.

"Jem, why? You nearly passed out earlier, why risk it again?" Will asked, dumbfounded. Jem sighed.

"I wanted to see what information it had. When I caught up to it -just now- it saw you and said it would return." Jem said, just as surprised by the automaton's behaviour as Will. "Shall we go after it?" Jem suggested. Will nodded. The two walked after where it had gone, then once they spotted it, Will broke into a run. When the two finally caught up to it, it turned and _'spoke'._

_*"I... am... a warning... from the Magister"_ It began. Will was about to destroy this one too, but Jem looked to him, shaking his head.

"About what? To who?" Jem questioned it, after catching up to Will.

_"A warning to... Will Herondale... And all Nephilim... Cease your investigations... the past is the past... Leave Mortmain's or your family... will pay..."_ And then became silent. Will had a terrified look on his face, '_your family'._ Jem looked to Will, seeing his distressed expression, worried him. Will was never distressed about anything.

"Shall we get back to Tessa?" Jem suggested, trying to get Will to move... or breathe... or do anything. Jem's attempts were cut short by a scream. _Tessa,_ Will thought. he took off, again, but this time, faster.

Will raced back, he knew that was Tessa's scream. Running as fast as his legs could carry him. He got back and saw the carriage. And there it was, a metal monstrosity, clawing at the door, and inside, Tessa was screaming. Will jumped at the creature, burying his blade into it's back, dragging it down. The automaton just turned around, and slashed at Will with it's sharp claw-like fingers. It cut his shoulder, but it was _just a scratch_, Will told himself as he kept trying to stab at the creature. In a last-ditch effort, he tried to take a back swing at the beast, but instead, the creature took a stab at Will. Everything from there felt like it happened in slow motion. Will heard Tessa screaming even more hysterically, and saw her trying to open the carriage door, jump out, run over to himself and from the corner of his eyes, he could see Jem running, seraph blade, that he never remembered them bringing, blazing bright.

Tessa dropped to her knees next to Will, who had fallen to the ground, and was cradling his head in her lap, pressing a handkerchief to his bleeding shoulder. But, this was no wound that could be fixed with a few _iratzes_, it was far worse. He was losing blood, a lot of blood, very fast. Tessa knew there was nothing that she could do, she had never felt so helpless in her life. Will looked up at her, his blue eyes blazing, no fight gone from them. _"Tess..." _he said weakly, his eyes closing, and head sinking back.

"I'm right here Will, I'm right here." Tessa said, pushing his hair away from his forehead. Will smiled, though he was barley conscious, one of his hands -the one _not_ attached to his wounded shoulder- reached for hers. Tessa grabbed it, holding it tightly, wishing she could send him energy to help him, even though she couldn't. Will's head was on her lap, looking to the side, down the hill; he opened his eyes, and they went wide. He tried to sit up, but was back down from the searing pain in his shoulder. Tessa looked, and saw a girl, the same girl from before, walking up the hill towards them.

"_Cecily._" he muttered. "Tess, get her out of here." Will said, his eyes panicked and voice weak, but his message strong.

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><p><strong>AN. Well, Will just had to be... Will... And, finally, you will see more Cecily. Even though I said she will be in this, she won't really be in right away, expect more of her in later chapters, not too much quite yet. I don't want to rush her into the story... Hopefully this chapter lived up to any expectations, if there were any. Still a short A/N, but this is definitely way better than my horrible, full-on, annoying, long, ramble-y ones. And, it just became one of those annoying ramble-y ones... I'll shut up now.**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N. Well, I hope those three days killed you inside... I mean, I hope you liked the last chapter, hopefully you like this one too! Without further ado, I present thee, chapter 17. Ooh, that's my lucky number... Maybe this chapter will be extra awesome... Or, you know, just as good as the rest. But, better is always... _better..._**

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><p>"I'm right here Will, I'm right here." Tessa said, pushing his hair away from his forehead. Will smiled, though he was barley conscious, one of his hands -the one <em>not<em> attached to his wounded shoulder- reached for hers. Tessa grabbed it, holding it tightly, wishing she could send him energy to help him, even though she couldn't. Will's head was on her lap, looking to the side, down the hill; he opened his eyes, and they went wide. He tried to sit up, but was back down from the searing pain in his shoulder. Tessa looked, and saw a girl, the same girl from before, starting up the hill towards them.

"_Cecily._" he muttered. "Tess, get her out of here." Will said, his eyes panicked and voice weak, but his message strong. Tessa hesitated, looking into his eyes.

"Only if you promise that if I leave you here, you will not do anything stupid. No getting up and fighting, none of that. Promise me, you'll keep yourself safe." Tessa made sure her voice was crystal clear.

"I swear on the angel that I will stay safe." Will said, offering her a smile. Tessa nodded, gently laying his head on the ground, only to see him trying to sit up. she rolled her eyes at him. "I need to see what's going on." Will said, holding the handkerchief to his shoulder. He watched Tessa run down to Cecily, saw the panicked look on their faces, and then everything began to go dark.

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><p>When Tessa left Will, she knew, it was not a good thing to leave him, but she did what he wanted and went after the Cecily. When Tessa came up to the young girl, Tessa couldn't help but see a striking resemblance to Will. Her blue eyes were the same shade, and her black hair was also a trait that Tessa familiarized with Will. "Excuse me, but do you know what is going on? I heard a scream and came to see what had gone wrong." Cecily asked, tilting her head at Tessa. Tessa could detect a different accent in her voice, something she also heard very faintly in Will's voice occasionally.<p>

"Oh, it's all under control now. You should just go back to where you came here from. All is well, thank you for your concern." Tessa said coolly. But Cecily could tell, all was not right. She looked further up the hill, and saw a familiar face. One that she hadn't seen in over five years.

"_Gwilym._" Her eyes went wide as she began to run faster up the hill to him. Tessa bolted after her, afraid to see how Cecily would react to the scene that Tessa had abandoned.

"Cecily, stop!" Tessa cried, hoping to stop her from seeing the horror that was hidden near the top of the hill. Cecily stopped, turning to see Tessa.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, looking startled.

"I... a friend of mine... He knows you." Tessa stuttered.

"You know Will?" Cecily looked at her cocking her head to the side.

Just as Tessa opened her mouth to speak, she heard a voice, Jem, call. "Tessa! Look out!" When Tessa turned to look, she saw the automaton, now a dead, lifeless, limp clump of metal and flesh rolling down the hill towards her. She hopped out of the way, and started back up the hill. Cecily followed close behind her, though Tessa told her numerous times to stop, or to go home, or to leave.

She turned one last time, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking dead into her eyes. "Cecily, I am giving you one last chance to go. What you see may or may not be frightening. Please, I wish you to go back." Tessa pleaded. Cecily simply shook her head and continued up the hill. Tessa thought, rolling her eyes and continuing after her. The two reached the top of the hill, seeing Will laying unconscious, blood seeping everywhere and Jem kneeling beside his _parabatai_, pulling Will's shirt and jacket away to get a closer look at the wound. Tessa turned to the Cecily, who -as expected- had a panicky look on her face; her hands were over her mouth and her everything about her read shock, fear and panic.

"Tessa, get over here. Help my get him into the carriage, we need to get him back." Jem said, glancing up at Tessa. He did a double take, noticing the short black haired girl with blue eyes the same as his _parabatai._ "Excuse me, but, whom are you?" Jem asked, momentarily taking his attention away from Will.

"Who are _you?_" she returned.

"James Carstairs, now answer me, _who are you?"_ Jem repeated. The girl sighed, and shrugged as if to say _what've I got to lose?_

"Cecily Herondale." she replied. _Herondale... that explains so much..._ Tessa thought, thinking about Cecily's previous behaviour. "Now, tell me what happened to my brother, and maybe I can help you." she came over, kneeling next to her brother, who was beginning to stir again. Jem seemed to hesitate, not wanting to really say too much, and Tessa herself wasn't really sure what to say. Cecily looked at the people around her, realizing she wasn't going to get an answer to _that_ question, so she tried another. "What happened to Will?" She looked down at him, a worried look on her face.

"From what I can see, I think when he was stabbed-"

"He was stabbed?" Cecily shrieked. Jem and Tessa nodded.

"Yes, now let me finish. When he was stabbed, the blade shattered his part shoulder blade, or it seems, and the bleeding is slowing, but not by much. I do not think it would be wise to just use a blood replacement rune right now, as it would just run out." Jem looked at the girls, who looked desperate to help. "I could try I guess..." Jem trailed off, reaching for his stele. Jem began to draw near Will's stab-wound, Tessa and Cecily stared in amazement as his the stele glowed and the rune sunk into his skin. Once Jem was done, all that the rune did was increase the blood flow.

"What are we going to do?" Tessa's breath was shortening, she was feeling dizzy, blood truly wasn't her worst enemy, it was the sight of seeing the boy she loved, looking so helpless and weak that made her feel how she did.

"Help me get him into the carriage. We need to take him back to the Institute." Jem tried to think of a way to lift Will without jostling his shoulder too much. Cecily stood back and shook her head.

"You need to get him to a hospital, they can help him there." She looked down at her brother, and back to the others, who were looking at her like she were mad.

"A mundane hospital cannot help him." Jem said, as he and Tessa did their best to get him up. Half way through them getting Will to sit up, he started to wake up.

_"Cecily..._" he mumbled, like he had earlier.

"I'm here, _Gwilym._" Cecily said back, sitting next to him. At Cecily's voice, Will's eyes shot open. He looked at her, and nearly thought he was dreaming still.

"Cecily,_ fy chwaer fach..._ What are you doing here?" He asked, looking to his little sister, whom had grown so much since he last saw her.

"I came to see what was happening, I thought I saw you. And it was you. _R__oedd yn wirioneddol ydych."_ Cecily said, wrapping her arms around her brother, who let out a small cry of pain as she did. "Sorry." Cecily pulled back, seeing the grimace on Will's face. He shook his head at her.

"You can't be here. Cecy, go home. Go back to mam and dad, they are going to be worried about you." Will said, wincing as he tried to move to stand up.

"No. No, I'm not going home. Not unless you come with me." Cecily urged.

"Excuse me, but, young miss Herondale, I am not sure if you noticed or not, but Will is bleeding out, and might lose consciousness again if we do not treat his wounds right. He cannot and will not go with you." Jem interrupted, helping Will to his feet.

"Come back with me. We can take care of him." Cecily urged, as Jem and Tessa lead Will over to the carriage, opening the doors.

"Cecy, no. I can't. I am not supposed to be in contact with you or them. I cannot see them. And you, you never saw _me._" Will looked at his sister, a feeling of longing, a feeling of something missing being returned. He pushed the feeling down, looking away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN. Awww, Cecily's just so lost right now... As is Will... _le __sigh,_ Herondales... So, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's been reading this story... I love you guys and even though you may not know it, but just coming and seeing another person reviewed, favorite, or followed this, makes me feel awesome... I could go on forever, but I will stop here before it gets too ramble-y, like it usually does...**

**Also, please excuse my Welsh if anything is wrong... I only know so much, and hope my translations were right... When you put one language to one side of your mind, to work on another one, you tend to forget things... (All the translations, for all the Welsh and any other languages, will always be in the A/N in the future.)**

**"Cecily,_ fy chwaer fach..._" - "Cecily, my little sister..."**

** "_R__oedd yn wirioneddol ydych." - _"It was really you."**

**Feel free to PM me for any ideas/things you want to see happen (I will take them into consideration... as long as they're reasonable requests), or drop me a review, tell me how I did?**


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